piS 


























THE HIVE 



LL 



THE BEE-HUNTER," 



INCLUDING 



PECULIAR AMERICAN CHARACTER, SCENERY, 
AND RURAL SPORTS. 



JA 



BY T. B: T H HP E, 

OF LOUISIANA. 

AUTHOR or "TOM OWEN, THE BEE-HUNTER ; " "MYSTERIES OF THE BACK- 
WOODS," ETC. ETC. 

• 







ILLUSTRATED £Y SKETCHES FBOM NATURE. 



NEW-YORK : 
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY, 

346 & 34S BROADWAY. 
LONDON: 16 LITTLE BRITAIN. 

M.DCCC.LIV. 



a'" 



Entered according to Act of Congress in the year 1854, 

By D. APPLETON & COMPANY, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Southern District of New- York. 



Exchange 
JiliHPai'y oi Supreme Council A.A»S»I8. 
Aog lO, 1940 



TO 

THE LOVERS OF NATURE, 

WHETHER RESIDING IN THE CROWDED CITY, PLEASANT 
VILLAGE, OR NATIVE WILD, 

IS CORDIALLY DEDICATED. 



PREFACE. 



The " Hive of the Bee-Hunter" has one ob- 
ject, which the author would impress upon such 
readers as may honor him with their attention. 

An effort has been made, in the course of 
these sketches, to give to those i3ersonally unac- 
quainted with the scenery of the southwest, some 
idea of the country, its surface, and vegetation. 

In these matters, the author has endeavored 
to be critically correct, indulging in the honest 
ambition of giving some information, while de- 
picting the germinating evidences of the great 
original characters national to these localities. 

The southwest, with its primeval and evergreen 
forests, its unbounded prairies, and its many and 
continuous rivers, presents contributions of nature, 
which the pilgrims from every land, for the first 
time, behold with wonder and awe. 



PREFACE. 



Here, in their vast interior solitudes^ far re- 
moved from. trans-Atlantic influences, are alone 
to be found, in the more comparative infancy of 
our country, characters truly sui generis — truly 
American. 

What man would be, uninfluenced by contact 
with the varied associations of long civilization, is 
here partially demonstrated in the denizens of the 
interior of a mighty continent. 

The discovery of America, — its vast extent, — 
and its developing destiny, — present facts, which 
far surpass the wildest imagery of the dreamers 
of the olden times. 

There are growing up, in these primitive wilds, 
men, whose daily life and conversation, w^hen de- 
tailed, form exaggerations ; but whose histories 
are, after all, only the natural developments of 
the mighty associations which surround them. 



CONTENTS. 



FAOB 

Wild Turkey Hunting 9 

Summer Retreat in Arkansas 28 

Tom Owen, the Bee-Hunter ..••.. 47 

Arrow-Fishing •..••... 54 

The Big Bear of Arkansas ...••. 72 

The Mississippi 94 

Large and Small Steamers on the Mississippi . . 105 

Familiar Scenes on the Mississippi . . . . II4 
A Storm Scene on the Mississippi . . . , .126 

Grizzly Bear-Hunting I35 

A Piano in Arkansas ....... 145 

Wild-Cat Hunting . I55 

Mike Fink, the Keel-Boatman .163 

Alligator Killing 184 



8 CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

Buffalo Hunting 193 

Scenes in Buffalo Hunting 213 

Woodcock Fire-Hunting 225 

The Water Craft of the Back- Woods . . . 232 

Place de La Croix . 240 

Opossum Hunting , 255 

A "Hoosier" in Search of Justice . . . .266 

Major Gasden's Story .... . . 2Y1 

The Great Four-Mile Day 280 

The Way that Americans go down Hill . 802 



WILD TURKEY HUNTING. 

Originally, the wild turkey was found scattered 
throughout the whole of our continent, its habits only 
difl'ering, where the peculiarity of the seasons compelled 
it to provide against excessive cold or heat. In the 
" clearing," it only lives in its excellent and degenerated 
descendant of the farm-yard, but in the vast prairies and 
forests of the " far west," this bird is still abundant, 
and makes an important addition to the fare of wild life. 

It is comparatively common on the " frontiers," but 
every passing year lessens its numbers ; and as their dis- 
appearance always denotes their death, their extermina- 
tion is progressive and certain. 

In Louisiana, Alabama, South Carolina, and other 
southern states, there are fastnesses, in which they will 
find support and protection for a long time to come. 
The swampa and lowlands that offer no present induce- 



10 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

ment to " the settler," will shelter them from the rifle ; 
and in the rich productions of the soil, they find a super- 
abundance of food. 

The same obscurity, however, that protects them, 
leaves the hole of the wildcat in peace ; and this bitter 
enemy of the turkey, wars upon it, and makes its life one 
of cunning and care. Nor, is its finely-flavored meat un- 
appreciated by other destroyers, as the fox often makes 
the turkey an evening meal, while the weasel contents 
itself with the little chicks. The nest, however, may 
have been made, and the young birds may have in peace 
broken the shell, and frightened at their own piping 
notes, hidden instinctively away, when the Mississippi 
will rise, bearing upon its surface the waters of a thou- 
sand floods, swell within its narrow banks, and overflow 
the lowlands. The young bird, unable to fly, and too 
delicate to resist the influence of the wet, sickens and 

dies. 

Upon the dryness of the season, therefore, the tur- 
key-hunter builds his hopes of the plentifulness of the 
game. 

Independent of the pernicious influence of unfavora- 
ble seasons, or the devastation of the wild turkey by 
destructive animals, their numbers are also annually 
lessened by the skill of the pioneer and backwoodsman, 
and in but comparatively a few more years the bird must 
have, as a denizen of our border settlements, only a tra- 
ditionary existence ; for the turkey is not migratory in 



WILD TURKEY HUNTING. H 

its habits, and its absence from any of its accustomed 
haunts, is indicative of its total extermination from the 
place where it was once familiar. 

At present, the traveller in the " far west," while 
wending his solitary way through the trackless forests, 
sometimes very unexpectedly meets a drove of turkeys 
in his pathway, and when his imagination suddenly 
warms with the thought that he is near the poultry-yard 
of some hospitable farmer, and while his wearied limbs 
seem to labor with extra pain, as he thinks of the couch 
compared with the cold ground as a resting-place, he 
hears a sudden whizzing in the air, a confused noise, 
and his seeming evidences of civilization and comfort 
vanish as the wild turkey disappears, giving him by 
their precipitate flight, the most painful evidence that he 
is far from the haunts of men and home. 

Turkey hunting is a favorite pursuit with all who 
can practise it with success, but it is a bird liberally 
provided by nature with the instinct of self-preservation, 
and is, therefore, seldom found off its guard. Skilful 
indeed must be the shot that stops the turkey in its 
flight of alarm, and yet its wings, as with the partridge 
and quail, are little used for the purposes of escaping 
from danger. It is on their speed that they rely for 
safety, and we doubt if the best hounds could catch 
them in a race, even if the turkey's wings were clipped 
so that they could not resort to height to elude their 
pursuers. So little indeed does the bird depend upon 



12 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

its pinions, that they find it difficult to cross rivers 
moderately wide, and in the attempt the weak and very 
fat, are often sacrificed. 

We have seen the wild turkey gathering in troops 
upon the limb of some tall cotton wood on the banks of 
the Mississippi, and we have known by their prepara- 
tions that they intended to cross the river. There on 
their elevated roost they would set, stretching out their 
necks as if gathering a long breath for their, to them, 
prolonged flight. In the mean while, the " squatter," 
on the opposite bank, would prepare himself to take ad- 
vantage of the birds' necessities. Judging from expe- 
rience where about the " drove " would land on his side 
of the stream, he would lie concealed until the flight 
commenced. The birds would finally launch themselves 
in the mid air, as in their progress it could be seen that 
they constantly descended toward the earth, — the bank 
would be reached, but numbers exhausted would fail to 
reach the land, and would fall a prey to the insatiate 
wave, or the rapacious wants of man. 

In hunting the wild turkey, there is unfortunately 
too little excitement to make it a favorite sport with 
those who follow the hounds. But the uncertainty of 
meeting with the bird, even if you know its haunts, and 
the sudden termination of the sport, even if successful, 
makes successful turkey hunters few and far between. 

The cautiousness of the wild turkey is extraordinary : 
it excels that of the deer, or any other game whatever ; 



WILD TURKEY HUNTING. 13 

and nothing but stratagem, and an intimate knowledge 
of the habits of the bird by the hunter, will command 
success. We once knew an Indian, celebrated for all 
wood craft, who made a comfortable living by supplying 
a frontier town with game. Often did he greet the vil- 
lagers with loads of venison, with grouse, with bear, but 
seldom, indeed, did he offer the esteemed turkey for 
sale. Upon being reproached for his seeming incapacity 
to kill the turkey, by those who desired the bird, he de- 
fended himself as follows : 

" Me meet moose — he stop to eat, me shoot him. 
Me meet bear — he climb a tree, no see Indian, me shoot 
him. Me meet deer — he look up — say may be Indian, 
may be stump — and me shoot him. Me see turkey great 
way off — he look up and say, Indian coming sure— me 
no shoot turkey, he cunning too much," 

The turkey is also very tenacious of life, and will 
often escape though wounded in a manner that would 
seem to defy the power of locomotion. A rifle ball has 
been driven through and through the body of a turkey, 
and yet it has run with speed for miles. Some hunters 
have been fortunate in possessing dogs that have, with- 
out any instruction, been good turkey hunters. These 
dogs follow the scent, lead the hunter up to the haunts 
of the bird, lie quiet until a shot is had, and then follow 
the game if only wounded, until it is exhausted, and 
thus secure a prize to the hunter, that would otherwise 
have been lost. This manner of hunting the turkey. 



14 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

however, cannot be called its most legitimate form ; as 
will be noticed in the progress of our chronicle. 

The taste that makes the deer and fox hunt a favor- 
ite amusement, is not the foundation on which to build 
a true turkey hunter. The baying of hounds, the 
clamor of the horn, the excitement of the chase, the 
pell-mell and noisy demonstration, are all destructive to 
the successful pursuit of the turkey, — consequently, the 
turkey hunter is distinct and peculiar ; he sympathises 
with the excentric habits of the bird, with its love of 
silence, with its obscurity, and it is no objection to him, 
if the morning is whiled away in the deep solitude, in 
comparative inaction, for all this favors contemplation 
worthy of an intellectual mind. 

It is unnecessary to describe the bird, though we 
never see it fairly represented except in the forest. 
The high-mettled racer that appears upon the course 
is no more superior to the well fed cart-horse, than is 
the wild turkey to the tame; in fact, nothing living 
shows more points of health and purity of blood than 
this noble bird. Its game head, and clear hazel eye, 
the clean, firm step, the great breadth of shoulder, and 
deep chest, strike the most superficial observer. Then 
there is an absolute commanding beauty about them, 
when they are alarmed or curious; then they elevate 
themselves to their full height, bringing their head per- 
pendicular with their feet, and gaze about, every feather 
in its place, the foot upraised ready at an instant to 



WILD TURKEY HUNTING. 15 

strike off at a speed, that, as has been said of the os- 
trich, " scorneth the horse and his rider." 

As a general thing, turkey-hunters, if they be of 
literary habits, read Isaak Walton, and Burton's " Ana- 
tomy of Melancholy," and all — learned or unlearned — 
are. of course, enthusiastic disciples of the rod and line. 
The piscator can be an enthusiastic admirer of the ope- 
ra, the wild turkey-hunter could not be, for his taste 
never carries him beyond the simple range of natural 
notes. Herein, he excels. 

Place him in the forest with his pipe, and no rough 
Pan ever piped more wilily, or more in harmony with 
the scenes around him. The same tube modulates the 
sound of alarm, and the dulcet strains of love ; it plays 
plaintively the complaining notes of the female, and, in 
sweet chirrups, calls forth the lover from his hiding- 
place ; it carols among the low whisperings of the fledg- 
ling, and expresses the mimic sounds of joy at the trea- 
sure of food, that is discovered under the fallen leaf, or 
half hidden away in the decaying wood. 

And all this is done so craftily, that ears, on which 
nature has set her stamp of peculiar delicacy, and the 
instinct, true almost as the shadow to the sunlight; are 
both deceived. 

The wild turkey-hunter is a being of solitude. There 
is no noise or boisterous mirth in his pursuit. 

Even the dead leaf, as it sails in circuitous motion 
to the earth, intrudes upon his caution, and alarms the 



4 



16 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTBR. 

wary game, which, in its care of preservation, flies as 
swiftly before the imaginary, as before the real danger. 

Often, indeed, is the morning's work destroyed by 
the cracking of a decayed limb, under the nimble spring 
of the squirrel. The deer and timid antelope will stop 
to gratify curiosity ; the hare scents the air for an in- 
stant, when alarmed, before it dashes off ; but the turkey 
never speculates, never wonders ; suspicion of danger, 
prompts it to immediate flight, as quickly as a reality. 

The implements of the turkey-hunter are few and 
simple ; the " call," generally made of the large bone of 
the turkey's wing, or a small piece of wood, into which is 
driven a nail, and a small piece of oil stone (the head 
of the nail on being quickly scraped on the stone, pro- 
ducing perfectly the noise of the female turkey), and a 
double-barrel fowling-piece, complete the list. A rifle 
is used where the game is plentiful ; and the person using 
it, as we have already described, depends upon the saga- 
city and speed of the dog, to rescue the wounded bird, 
for the turkey never instantly dies, except wounded in 
the brain. 

Where turkeys are plentiful and but little hunted, 
unskilful persons succeed in killing them ; of such hunt- 
ers we shall not speak. 

The bird changes its habits somewhat with its 
haunts, growing wilder as it is most pursued ; it may, 
therefore, be said to be the wildest of game. Gaining 
in wisdom according to the necessity, it is a different 



WILD TURKEY HUNTING. 17 

bird wliere it is constantly sought for as game, from 
where it securely lives in the untrodden solitude. The 
turkey will, therefore, succeed at times in finding a 
home in places comparatively " thickly settled," and 
be so seldom seen, that they are generally supposed to 
be extinct. Under such circumstances, they fall vic- 
tims only to the very few hunters who may be said to 
make a science of their pursuit. 

" I rather think," said a turkey-hunter, " if you 
want to find a thing very cunning^ you need not go to 
the fox or such varmints, but take a gobbler. I once 
hunted regular after the same one for three years, and 
never saw him twice. 

'' I knew the critter's ' yelp' as well as I know Mu- 
sic's, my old deer dog ; and his track was as plain to 
me as the trail of a log hauled through a dusty road. 

" I hunted the gobbler always in the same ' range,' 
and about the same '■ scratchins,' and he got so, at last, 
that when I ' called,' he would run from me, taking the 
opposite direction to my oion foot-tracks. 

" Now, the old rascal kept a great deal on a ridge, at 
the end of which, where it lost itself in the swamp, was 
a hollow cypress tree. Determined to outwit him, I 
put on my shoes, heels foremost^ walked leisurely down 
the ridge, and got into the hollow tree, and gave a 
* call,' and boys," said the speaker exultingly, " it would 
have done you good to see that turkey coming towards 
me on a trot, looking at my tracks, and thinking I had 
gone the other wayy 



18 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

Of all turkey-hunters, our friend W is the most 

experienced ; he is a bachelor, lives upon his own planta- 
tion, studies, philosophizes, makes fishing tackle, and 
kills turkeys. With him, it is a science reduced to cer- 
tainty. Place him in the woods where turkeys frequent, 
and he is as certain of them as if already in his pos- 
session. 

He understands the habits of the bird so well, that 
he will, on his first essay, on a new hunting-ground, give 
the exact character of the hunters the turkeys have been 
accustomed to deal with. The most crafty turkeys are 

those which W seeks, hemmed in by plantations, 

inhabiting uncultivatable land, and always in more or 
less danger of pursuit and discovery, they become, under 
such circumstances, wild beyond any game whatever. 

They seem incapable of being deceived, and taking 
every thing strange, as possessed to them of danger — 
whether it be a moth out of season — or a veteran hunt- 
er — they appear to common, or even uncommon ob- 
servers, annihilated from the country, were it not for 
their footprints occasionally to be seen in the soft soil 
beside the running stream, or in the light dust in the 
beaten road. 

A veteran gobbler, used to all the tricks of the 
hunter's art — one who has had his wattles cut with 
shot; against whose well-defended breast had struck the 
spent ball of the rifle — one who, though almost starved, 
would walk by the treasures of grain in the " trap" and 



WILD TURKEY HUNTING. 19 

" pen," — a gobbler who will listen to the plaintive note of 
the female until he has tried its quavers, its length, its re- 
petitions, by every rule nature has given him — and then, 
perhaps not answer, except in a smothered voice, for 
fear of being deceived ; — such a turkey will W se- 
lect to break a lance with^ and, in spite of the chances 
against him, win. 

We then have here the best specimen of wild tur- 
key-hunting ; an exhibition of skill between the perfec- 
tion of animal instinct, and the superior intellect 
of man. 

The turkey-hunter, armed with his "call," starts 
into the forest ; he bears upon his shoulder the trusty 
gun. He is either informed of the presence of turkeys, 
and has a particular place or bird in view, or he makes 
his way cautiously along the banks of some running 
steam ; his progress is slow and silent ; it may be that 
he unexpectedly hears a noise, sounding like distant 
thunder ; he then knows that he is in close proximity 
of the game, and that he has disturbed it to flight. 
When such is the case, his work is comparatively done. 
We will, for illustration, select a more difficult hunt. 
The day wears towards noon, the patient hunter has 
met no " sign," when suddenly a slight noise is heard— 
not unlike, to unpractised ears, a thousand other wood- 
land sounds; the hunter listens; again the sound is 
heard, as if a pebble dropped into the bosom of a little 
lake. It may be that woodpecker, who, desisting from 



20 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

his labors, has opened his bill to yawn — or, perchance, 
yonder little bird so industriously scratching among the 
dead leaves of that young holly. Again, precisely the 
same sound is heard ; yonder, high in the heavens, is a 
solitary hawk, winging its way over the forests, its rude 
scream etherealized, might come down to our ears, in 
just such a sound as made the turkey-hunter listen; 
— again the same note — now more distinct. The quick 
ear of the hunter is satisfied ; stealthily he intrenches 
himself behind a fallen tree, a few green twigs are 
placed before him, from among which protrudes the 
muzzle of his deadly weapon. 

Thus prepared, he takes his " call," and gives one 
solitary " cluck'''' — so exquisitely — that it chimes in with 
the running brook and the rustling leaf. 

It may be, that a half a mile off, if the place be fa- 
vorable for conveying sound, is feeding a "gobbler;" 
prompted by his nature, as he quickly scratches up the 
herbage that conceals his food, he gives utterance to the 
sounds that first attracted the hunter's attention. 

Poor bird ! he is bent on filling his crop ; his feel- 
ings are listless, common-place ; his wings are awry ; 
the plumage on his breast seems soiled with rain ; his 
wattles are contracted and pale, — look ! he starts — 
every feather is instantly in its place, he raises his de- 
licate game-looking head full four feet from the ground, 
and listens ; what an eye ! what a stride is suggested by 
that lifted foot ! gradually the head sinks ; again the 



WILD TURKEY HUNTING. 21 

bright plumage grows dim, and with a low cluck ^ he re- 
sumes his search for food. 

The treasures of the American forest are before 
him ; the choice pecan-nut is neglected for that immense 
"grub worm" that rolls down the decayed stump, 
too large to crawl ; now that grasshopper is nabbed ; 
presently a hill of ants presents itself, and the bird 
leans over it, and, with wondering curiosity, peering 
down the tiny hole of its entrance, out of which are is- 
suing the industrious insects. 

Again that cluck greets his ear, up rises the head 
with lightning swiftness, the bird starts forward a pace 
or two, looks around in wonder, and answers back. 

No sound is heard but the falling acorn ; and it 
fairly echoes, as it rattles from limb to limb, and dashes 
off to the ground. 

The bird is uneasy — he picks pettishly, smooths 
down his feathers, elevates his head slowly, and then 
brings it to the earth ; raises his wings as if for flight, 
jumps upon the limb of a fallen tree, looks about, set- 
tles down finally into a brown study, and evidently com- 
mences thinking. 

An hour may have elapsed— he has resolved the matter 
over ; his imagination has become inflamed ; he has 
heard just enough to wish to hear 'more; he is satis- 
fied, that no turkey-hunter uttered the sounds that 
reached his ear, for they were too few and far betiveen ; 
and then there rises up in his mind some disconsolate 



22 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

mistress, and lie gallantly flies down from his low perch, 
gives his body a swaggering motion, and utters a dis- 
tinct and prolonged cluck — significant of both surprise 
and joy. 

On the instant, the dead twigs near by crack beneath 
a heavy tread, and he starts off under the impression 
that he is caught ; but the meanderings of some rumi- 
nating cow inform him of his mistake. Composing 
himself, he listens — ten minutes since he challenged, 
when a low cluck in the distance reaches his ears. 

Now, our gobbler is an old bird, and has several times, 
as if by a miracle, escaped from harm with his life ; he 
has grown very cunning indeed. 

He will not roost two successive nights upon the 
same tree, so that daylight never exposes him to the 
hunter, who has hidden himself away in the night to 
kill him in the morning's dawn. 

He never gobbles without running a short distance 
at least, as if alarmed at the noise he makes himself — he 
presumes every thing is suspicious and dangerous, and 
his experience has heightened the instinct. 

Twice, when young, was he coaxed within gun-shot : 
but got clear by some fault of the percussion-caps — after 
that, he was fooled by an idle schoolboy, who was a kind 
of ventriloquist, and would have been slain, had not the 
urchin overloaded his gun. 

Three times did he come near being killed by heed- 
lessly wandering with his thoughtless playfellows. 



WILD TURKEY HUNTING. 23 

Once he was caught in a "pen," and got out by an 
overlooked hole in its top. 

Three feathers of last year's "fan," decayed under 
the weight of a spring-trap. 

All this experience has made him a " deep " bird ; 
and he will sit and plume himself, when common hunters 
are tooting away, but never so wisely as to deceive him 
twice. They all reveal themselves by overstepping the 
modesty of nature, and ivoo Jiim too riiucli ; his loves 
are far more coy, far less intrusive. 

Poor bird ! he does not know that W is spread- 
ing his snare for him, and is even then so sure of his 
victim, as to be revolving in his mind whether his goodly 
carcass should be a present to a newly-married friend, 
or be served up in savory fumes, from his own bachelor 
but hospitable board. 

The last cluck heard by the gobbler, fairly roused 
him, and he presses forward ; at one time he runs with 
speed ; then stops as if not yet quite satisfied ; some- 
thing turns him back ; still he lingers only for a mo- 
ment in his course, until coming to a running stream, 
where he will have to fly ; the exertion seems too much 
for him. 

Stately parading in the full sunshine, he walks along 
the margin of the clear water, admiring his fine per- 
son as it is reflected in the sylvan mirror, and then, like 
some vain lover, tosses his head, as if to say, " let them 
come to me : " the listless gait is resumed, expressive 
that the chase is given up. 



24 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

Gaining the ascent of a low bank, that lines the 
stream he has just deserted, he stops at the foot of a 
young beech ; in the green moss that fills the interstices 
of the otherwise smooth bark is hidden away a cricket ; 
the turkey picks at it, without catching it ; something 
annoys him. 

Like the slipper of Cinderella to the imagination of 
the young prince, or the glimpses of a waving ringlet or 
jewelled hand, to the glowing passions of a young heart, 
is the remembrance of that sound, that now full two 
hours since was first heard by our hero — and has been, 
in that long time, but tivice repeated. He speculates 
that in the shady woods that surround him, there must 
wander a mate ; solitarily she plucks her food, and calls 
for me — the monster man, impatient of his prey, doles 
not out his music so softly or so daintily — I am not 
deceived, and, by my ungallant fears, she will be won 
by another. 

Cluck. — 

How well-timed the call. The gobbler now entirely 
off his guard, contracts himself, opens wide his mouth, 
and rolls forth, fearlessly, a volume of sound for his 
answer. 

The stream is crossed in a flutter, the toes scarce 
indent themselves in the soft ground over which they 
pass. On, on he plunges, until caution again brings 
him to a halt. We could almost wish that so fine a bird 
might escape — that there might be given one "call" too 



WILD TURKEY HUNTING. 25 

much — one, that grated unnaturally on the poor bird's 
ear — but not so, — they lead him to his doom, filling his 
heart with hope and love. 

To the bird there is one strange incongruity in the 
" call " — never before has he gone so far with so little 
success ; but the note is perfect, the time most nicely 
given. 

Again he rolls forth a loud response, and listens — 
yet no answer : his progress is still slow. 

The cluck again greets his ear ; there was a slight 
quaver attached to it this time, like the forming of a 
second note ; he is nearing his object of pursuit, and 
with an energetic " call ; " he rushes forward, his long 
neck stretched out, and his head moving inquiringly from 
side to side. 

No longer going round the various obstacles he 
meets with in his path, but impatiently flying over them, 
he comes to an ojDen sjDace, and stops. 

Some six hundred yards from where he" stands may 
be seen a fallen tree ; you can observe some green 
brush, that looks as if it grew out of the very decayed 
wood ; in this " brush " is hidden away the deadly fowl- 
ing piece, and its muzzle is protruding towards the open 
ground. Behind it is the hunter, flat upon the ground, 
yet so placed that the weapon is at his shoulder. He 
seems to be as dead as the tree in front of him. Could 
you watch him closely, you would perceive that he 

scarcely winks for fear of alarming his game. 

o 



26 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

The turkey, still iu bis exposed situation, gobbles : — 
on the instant the hunter raises his " call " to his lips, 
and gives a prolonged cluck — loud and shrill ; the first 
that could really be construed by the turkey into a direct 
answer. 

The noble bird, now certain of success, fairly dances 
with delight ; he starts forward, his feathers and neck 
amorously playing as he advances ; now he commences 
his " strut" — his slender body swells, the beautiful plu- 
mage of his breast unfolds itself — his neck curves, draw- 
ing the neck downward — the wattles grow scarlet, while 
the skin that covers the head changes like rainbow 
tints. The long feathers of the wings brush the ground, 
the tail rises and opens into a semicircle, the gorgeously 
colored head becomes beautifully relieved in its centre. 

On he comes, with a hitching gait, glowing in the 
sunshine with purple and gold. 

The siren cluck is twice repeated ; he contracts his 
form to the smallest dimensions ; upwards rises the 
head to the highest point ; he stands upon his very toes, 
and looks suspiciously around ; fifty yards of distance 
protects him from the bolt of death : he even condes- 
cends to pick about. 

What a trial for the expectant hunter ! how vividly 
does he recollect that one breath too much has spoiled 
a morning's work ! 

The minutes wear on, and the bird again becomes 
the caller ; he gobbles, opens his form, and, when fully 



WILD TURKEY HUNTING. 27 

bloomed out, the enchanting cluck greets his ear ; on, on 
he comes — like the gaj horse towards the inspiring music 
of the drum, or like a bark beating; asainst the "wind, 
gallantly but slowly. 

The dark cold barrel of the gun is now not more 
silent than is the hunter ; the game is playing just out- 
side the very edge of its deadly reach ; the least mis- 
take, and it is gone. 

One gentle zephyr, one falling twig, might break the 
charm, and make nature revolt at the coyness apparent 
in the mistress, and then the lover would wing his way 
full of life to the woods. 

But on he comes — so still is every thing that you 
hear his wings distinctly as they brush the ground, 
while the sun plays in conflicting rays and colored lights 
about his gaudily bronzed plumage. 

Suddenly, the woods ring in echoing circles back 
upon you ; a sharp report is heard. 

Out starts, alarmed by the noise, a blue jay, which 
squalls as he passes in waving lines before you, so rudely 
wakened was he from sleep. 

But our rare and beautiful bird, — our gallant and 
noble bird, — our cunning and game bird, where is he ? 

The glittering plumage — the gay step — the bright eye 
— all — all are gone : — 

Without a movement of the muscles, our valorous 
lover has fallen lifeless to the earth. 



SUMMER RETREAT IN ARKANSAS. 

It is not expected that a faithful description of Satan's 
Summer Retreat in Arkansas, will turn aside the fashion 
of two worlds, from Brighton and Bath, or from New- 
port and Saratoga, although the residents in the neigh- 
borhood of that delightful place, profess to have ocular 
demonstration, as well as popular opinion, that his 
Satanic Majesty in warm weather regularly retires to 
the " Retreat," and " there reclines " in the " cool." 

The solemn grandeur that surrounds this distin- 
guished resort, is worthy of the hero as represented by 
Milton ; its characteristics are darkness, gloom and 
mystery ; it is environed by the unrivalled vegetation 
and forest of the Mississippi valley. View it when jou 
will, whether decked out in all the luxuriance of a 
southern summer, or stripped of its foliage by tlie win- 
ter's blasts — it matters not — its grandeur is always 
sombre. 



SUMMER RETREAT IN ARKANSAS. 29 

The liuge trees seem immortal, their roots look as 
if they struck to the ceotre of the earth, while the 
gnarled limbs reach out to the clouds Here and there 
may be seen one of these lordly specimens of vegetation, 
furrowed by the lightning ; from its top to the base you 
can trace the subtle fluid in its descent, and see where 
it shattered off the gigantic limb, or turned aside from 
slight inequality in the bark. 

These stricken trees, no longer able to repel the nu- 
merous parasites that surround them, soon become fes- 
tooned with wreathes and flowers ; while the damp air 
engenders on living tree and dead, like funereal drapery, 
the pendant moss, which waves in every breeze and seems 
to cover the whole scene with the gloom of the grave. 

Rising out of this forest, for ten square miles, is the 
dense cane-brake, that bears the name of " Satan's Sum- 
mer Retreat;" it is formed by a space of ground where, 
seemingly, from its superiority of soil, more delicate 
vegetation than that which surrounds it, has usurped 
the empire. Here the reed, which the disciple of Izaak 
Walton plays over the northern streams like a wand, 
grows into a delicate mast — springing with the prodi- 
gality of grass from the rich alluvium that gives it sus- 
tenance, and tapering from its roots to the height of 
twenty or thirty feet, it there mingles in comj)act and 
luxuriant confusion its long leaves. 

A portion of this brake is interwoven with vines of 
all descriptions, which makes it so thick that it is al- 



30 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

most as impenetrable as a mountain. Here, in this soli- 
tude, where the noon-day sun never penetrates, myriads 
of birds, with the instinct of safety, roost at night; 
and at the dawn of day for awhile darken the air as 
they seek their haunts — their manure deadening like a 
a fire, for acres around, the vegetation, so long have they 
possessed the solitude. 

Amid this mass of cane and vine, the black bear 
retire for winter quarters, where they pass the season, 
if not disturbed, in the insensibility of sleep, and yet 
come out in the spring as fat as when they commenced 
their long najD. 

The forest, the waste, and the dangers of the cane- 
brake, but add to the excitement of the Arkansas hunter ; 
he conquers them all, and makes them subservient to 
his pursuits. Familiar with these scenes, they to him 
possess no sentiment ; he builds his log cabin in a clear- 
ing made by his own hands, amid the surrounding gran- 
deur, and it looks like a gypsy hut among the ruins of 
a Gothic cathedral. The noblest trees to him are only 
valuable for fence-rails ; and the cane-brake is "an in- 
fernal dark hole," where you can " see sights," " catch 
bear," and get a " fish pole," ranging in size from a 
"penny whistle to that of a young stove pipe." 

The undoubted hero of Satan's Summer Retreat, is 
old Bob Herring : he has a character that would puzzle 
three hundred metaphysicians consecutively. For, while 
he is as bold as a lion, he is superstitious as an Indian. 



SUMMER RETREAT IN ARKANSAS. 31 

The exact place of his birth ho cannot tell, as he says 
that his parents " travelled'' as long as he can remember 
them. He " squatted " on the Mississippi at its nearest 
point to the Retreat, and there erecting a rude camp, 
commenced hunting for a living, having no prospect 
ahead but selling out his "pre-emption right " and im- 
provements, and again squatting somewhere else. 

Unfortunately, the extent of Arkansas, and the 
swamp that surrounded Bob's location, kept it out of 
market until, to use his own language, he " became the 
ancientest inhabitant in the hull of Arkansaw." And 
having, in spite of himself, gradually formed acquaint- 
ances with the few residents in this vicinity, and grown 
into importance from his knowledge of the country, and 
his hunting exploits, he has established himself for life, 
at what he calls, the " Wasp's diggins ;" made a potato 
patch, which he has never had time to fence in ; talked 
largely of a cornfield ; and hung his cabin round with 
rifle-pouches, gourds, red peppers, and flaming advertise- 
ments with rampant horses and pedigrees ; these latter 
ornaments, he looks upon as rather sentimental — but 
he excuses himself on the ground that they look " hoss," 
and he considers such an expression as considerably 
characteristic of himself. 

We have stated that Bob's mind would puzzle three 
hundred metaphysicians consecutively, and we as boldly 
assert that an equal number of physiologists would be 
brought to a stand by his personal appearance. The 



32 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

left side of his face is good looking, but the right side 
seems to be under the influence of an invisible air-pump ; 
it looks drawn out of shape ; his perpendicular height 
is six feet one inch, but that gives the same idea of his 
length that the diameter gives of the circumference ; 
how long Bob Herring would be if he were drawn 
out, it is impossible to tell. Bob*himself says, that he 
was made on too tall a scale for this world, and that he 
was shoved in like the joints of a telescope, — poor in 
flesh, his enormous bones and joints rattle when he 
moves, and they would no doubt long since have fallen 
apart, but for the enormous tendons that bind them to- 
gether as visibly as a good sized hawser would. 

Such is Bob Herring, — who on a bear hunt will do 
more hard work, crack more jokes, and be more active 
than any man living ; sustaining the whole with unflinch- 
ing good humor, never getting angry except when he 
breaks his whiskey-bottle, or has a favorite dog open ou 
the wrong trail. 

My first visit to Satan's Summer E-etreat, was pro- 
pitious ; my companions were all choice spirits ; the 
weather was fine, and Bob Herring inimitable. The 
bustling scene that prefaced the " striking the camp " 
for night lodgings, was picturesque and animated ; a 
long ride brought us to our halting-place, and there was 
great relief in again stepping on the ground. 

Having hoppled our horses, we next proceeded to 
build a fire, which was facilitated by taking advantage 




Bob Herring's Camp-fiit-, 



SUMMER RETREAT IN ARKANSAS. 33 

of a dead tree for a back-log ; our saddles, guns, and 
other necessaries were brought within the circle of its 
light, and lolling upon the ground we partook of a fru- 
gal supper, the better to be prepared for our morrow's 
exertions and our anticipated breakfast. 

Beds were next made up, and few can be better than 
a good supply of cane tops, covered with a blanket, with 
a saddle for a pillow; upon such a rude couch, the 
hunter sleeps more soundly than the effeminate citizen 
on his down. The crescent moon with her attendant 
stars, studded the canopy under which we slept, and the 
blazing fire completely d^ti'oy'ej.' the chilliness of a 

southern December nighl^/" c^^ 

0- ^."^-S? 



The old adage of " ear^jD bed and early to rise " 

was intended to be acted unOiJi, that we might salute the 

tardy sun with the heat of our sport ; and probably we 

would have carried out our intentions, had not Bob 

Herring very coolly asked if any of us snored " unkim- 

monly loud," for he said his old sJwoting iron would go 

off at a good imitation of a bear's breathing. This 

sally from Bob brought us all upright, and then there 

commenced a series of jibes, jokes, and stories, that no 

one can hear or witness except on an Arkansas hunt 

with " old coons." Bob, like the immortal Jack, was 

witty himself, and the cause of wit in others ; but he 

sustained himself against all competition, and gave in 

his notions and experience with an unrivalled humor 

and simplicity. 
2* 



34 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

He found in me an attentive listener, and, therefore 
went into details, iintil he talked every one but myself 
asleep. 

From general remarks, he changed to addressing me 
personally, and as I had every thing to learn, he went 
from the elementary, to the most complex experience. 

" You are green in bar hunting," said he to me, in a 
commiserating tone — " green as a jimson weed — but 
don't get short-winded 'bout it, case it's a thing like 
readin', to be I'arnt ; — a man don't come it perfectly at 
once, like a dog does ; and as for that, they I'arn a heap 
in time ; — thar is a greater difference 'tween a pup and 
an old dog on a bar hunt, than thar is 'tween a militia 
man and a regler. I remember when I couIcVnt bar 
hunt^ though the thing seems onpossible now ; it only 
takes time — a true eye and a steady hand, though I did 
know a fellow that called himself a doctor, who said you 
could'nt do it, if you was narvious. 

" I asked him if he meant by that, agee arid 
fever ! 

" He said, it was the agee without the fever. 

" Thar "tnay be such a thing as narvious, stranger, 
but nothing but a yarth quake, or the agee can shake me ; 
and still bar hunting aint as easy as scearing a wild tur- 
key, by a long shot. 

" The varmint aint a hog, to run with a — 
w — h — e — w ; just corner one — cotch its cub, or cripple 
it, and if j^ou don't have to fight, or get out of the way, 



\ 



SUMBTER RETREAT IN ARKANSAS. 35 

then thai' aint no cat-fish in the Mississip. I larnt that 
nih twenty year ago, and, perhaps, you Avould like to 
know about it." Signifying my assent. Bob Herring 
got up on his bed — for as it was upon the bare ground, 
he could not well get off of it, — and, approaching the fire, 
he threw about a cord of wood upon it, in the form of a 
few huge logs ; as they struck the blazing heap, the sparks 
flew upwards in the clear cold air, like jets of stars ; 
then, fixing himself most comfortably, he detailed what 
follows : 

" I had a knowin old sow on a time, that would have 
made a better hunter than any dog ever heer'd on — 
she had such a nose, — talk 'bout a dog following a cold 
trail — she'd track a bar through running water. Well 
' — you see afor' I know'd her vartu', she came run- 
ning into my cabin, bristles up, and fell on the floor, 
from what I now believe, to have been a regular scear. 
I thought she'd seen a bar, for nothing else could make 
her run ; and, taking down my rifle, I went out sort a 
carelessly, with only two dogs at my heels. I hadn't 
gone far 'fore I saw a bar, sure enough, quietly standing 
beside a small branch — it was an old He^ and no mistake. 

" I crawled up to him on my hands and knees, and 
raised my rifle, but had I fired, I must have hit him so 
far in front, that the ball would have ranged back and 
not cut his mortals. I waited — and he turned tail to- 
wards me, and started across the branch ; afeer'd I'd lose 
him, I blazed away, and a sort of cut him slantingdicu- 



36 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

larly through his hams, and brought him clown ; thar he 
sot looking like a sick nigger with the dropsy, or a black 
bale of cotton turned up on end. It was not a judge- 
matical shot, and Smith thar," pointing at one of the 
sleeping hunters, " would say so." 

Hereupon Bob Herring, without any ceremony, 
seized a long stick, and thrust it into Smith's short ribs, 
who thus suddenly awakened from a sound sleep, seized 
his knife, and, looking about him, asked confusedly 
what was the matter ? 

" Would you," inquired Bob, very leisurely, " would 
you — under any carcumstances, shoot an old He in the 
hams ? " 

Smith, very peremptorily, told his questioner to go 
where the occupier of the Retreat in summer^ is sup- 
posed to reside through the winter months, and went in- 
stantly to sleep again. 

Bob continued — " Stranger, the bar — as I have said, 
was on his hams, and thar he sot — waiting to whip 
somebody, and not knowing where to begin ; when the 
two dogs that followed me came up, and pitched into 
him like a caving bank — I know'd the result afore the 
fight began ; Blucher had his whole scalp, ears and all, 
hanging over his nose in a mioute, and Tige', was lying- 
some distance from the bar on his back, breathing like 
a horse with the thumps ; he wiped them both out with 
one stroke of his left paw, and thar he sot — knowing as 
well as I did, that he was not obliged to the dogs for 



SUMMER RETREAT IN ARKANSAS. 37 

the hole in his carcass — and thar I stood like a fool — 
rifle in hand, watching him, instead of giving him an- 
other ball. All of a sudden he caught a glimpse of my 
hunting shirt, and the way that he walked at me on his 
two fore legs, was a caution to slow dogs. 

" I fired, and instantly stept round behind the trunk 
of a large tree ; my second shot confused the bar, and 
as he was hunting about for me, just as I was patch- 
ing my ball, he again saw me, and, with his ears nailed 

back to his head, he gave the d 1 w — h — e — w I ever 

heard, and made straight at me ; I leapt up a bank near 
by, and as I gained the top, my foot touched the eend 
of his nose. 

" If I ever had the ' narvious^'' stranger, that was 
the time, for the skin of my face seemed an inch thick, 
and my eyes had more rings in them than a wild cat's. 

" At this moment, several of my dogs, that war out 
on an expedition of their own, came up, and immediately 
made battle with the bar, who shook off the dogs in a 
flash, and made agin at me; the thing was done so 
quick, that as I raised my rifle, I stepped back and fell 
over, and, thinking my time was come, wished that I 
had been born to be hung, and not chaw'd up ; but the 
bar didn't cotch me ; his hind quarters, as he came at 
me, fell into a hole about a root, and caught : I was on 
my feet, and out of his reach in a wink, but as quick as 
I did this, he had cut through a green root the size of 
my leg, he did it in about two snaps, but, weakened by 



38 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

the exertion, the dogs got hold of him, and held on 
while I blowed his heart out. Ever since that time, I 
have been wide awake with a wounded bar — sartainty 
or stand off] being my motto. 

" I shall dream of that bar to-night," concluded 
Bob, fixing his blanket over him ; and a few moments 
only elapsed before he was in danger of his life, if his 
rifle would go off", as he had said, at a good imitation of 
a bear's breathing. 

Fortunately for me, the sun on the following morn 
was fairly above the horizon before our little party was 
ready for the start. While breakfast was being pre- 
pared, the rifles were minutely examined ; some were 
taken apart, and every precaution used to insure a quick 
and certain fire. A rude breakfast having been des- 
patched, lots were drawn who should go into the drive 
with the dogs, as this task in Satan's Summer Retreat 
is any thing but a pleasant one, being obliged often to 
walk on the bending cane, which is so thick for hun- 
dreds of yards that you cannot touch or see the ground, 
— then crawling on your hands and knees between roots, 
you are sometimes brought to a complete halt, and 
obliged to cut your way through with the knife. While 
this is going on, the hunters are at the stands, places 
which their judgments dictate as most likely to be 
passed by the bear when roused by the dogs. 

Two miles might, on this occasion, have been passed 
over bv those in the drive in the course of three hours, 



SUMMER RETREAT IN ARKANSAS. 39 

and yet, although signs were plenty as " leaves," not a 
bear was started. Hard swearing was heard, and as the 
vines encircled the feet, or caught one under the nose, 
it was increased. 

In the midst of this ill humor, a solitary bark was 
heard, — some one exclaimed, that was Bose ! — another 
shrill yelp — that sounded like Music's ;— breathing was 
almost suspended in the excitement of the moment, — 
presently another and another bark was heard in quick 
succession — in a minute more tJie ivliole j)Cick of thirty- 
five stanch dogs opened ! 

The change from silence to so much noise, made it 
almost deafening. Nothing but personal demonstration 
could give an idea of the effect upon the mind of such a 
pack baying a bear in a cane-brake. Before me were old 
hunters ; they had been moving along as if destitute of 
energy or feeling ; but now, their eyes flashed, their 
lips were compressed, and their cheeks flushed ; they 
seemed incapable of fatigue. As for myself, my feelings 
almost overcame me. I felt a cold sweat stealing down 
my back, my breath was thick and hot, and as I sus- 
pended it, to hear more distinctly the fight, — for by this 
time the dogs had evidently come up with the bear — I 
could hear the pulsation of my heart. 

One minute more to listen — to learn in which direc- 
tion the war was raging — and then our party unanimously 
sent forth a yell that would have frightened a nation 
of Indians 



40 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

The bear was in his bed when the dogs first came 
up with him, and did not leave it until the pack sur- 
rounded him ; then finding things rather too warm, he 
broke off with a " whew " that was awful to hear. 

His course was towards us on the left, and as he 
went by, the cane cracked and smashed as if rode over 
by an insane locomotive. Bob Herring gave the dogs 
a salute as they passed close at the beast's heels, and 
the noise increased, until he said, " it sounded as if all 
li-ll were pounding bark." 

The bear was commented on as he rushed by; one 
said he was a " buster ; " "a regular-built eight year 
old " said another ; " fat as a candle," shouted a third ; 
— •' he's the beauty of Satan's Summer Betreat, with a 
band of music after him," sang Bob Herring. 

Out of his lair the bear plunged so swiftly, that our 
greatest exertions scarcely enabled us to keep within 
hearing distance; his course carried him towards those 
at the stands, he turned and exactly retraced his course, 
but not with the same speed ; want of breath had several 
times brought him to a stand, and a fight with the dogs. 
He passed us the second time within two hundred yards, 
and coming against a fallen tree, backed up against it, 
showing a determination, if necessary, there to die. 

We made our way towards the spot as fast as the 
obstacles in our way would let us ; the hunters anxious 
to dispatch him, that few dogs as possible might be 
sacrificed. The few minutes necessary to accomplish 



SUMMER RETREAT IN ARKANSAS. 41 

this, seemed a7i age — the fight all the time sounding 
terrible, for every now and then the bear evidently made 
a rush at the dogs as they narrowed their circle, or came 
individually ;t too near his person. 

Crawling through and over the cane-brake, was a 
new thing to me, and in the prevailing excitement my 
feet seemed tied together, and there was always a vine 
directly under my chin to cripple my exertions. While 
thus struggling, I heard a suspicious cracking in my 
ear, and looking round, I saw Bob Herring a foot taller 
than usual, stalking over the cane like a colossus ; he 
very much facilitated my progress by a shove in the 
rear. 

'' Come along, stranger," he shouted, his voice as 
clear as a bell, " come along ; the bar and the dogs are 
going it like a high-pressure political meeting, and I 
must be thar to put in a word, sartain." 

Fortunately for my wind, I was nearer the contest 
than I imagined, for Bob Herring stopped just ahead of 
me, examined his rifle, with two or three other hunters 
just arrived from the stands, and by peeping through 
the undergrowtl), we discovered within thirty yards of 
us, the fierce raging fight. 

Nothing distinctl}^, however, was seen ; a confused 
mass of legs, heads, and backs of dogs, flying about as 
if attached to a ball, was all we could make out. On 
still nearer approach, confusion would clear off for a 
moment, and the head of the bear could be seen, his 



42 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

tongue covered with dust and hanging a foot from his 
mouth; his jaws covered with foam and blood, and his 
eyes almost protruding from their sockets, while his 
ears were so closely pressed to the back of his head, 
that he seemed destitute of those appendages ; the whole, 
indicative of unbounded rage and terror. These 
glimpses of the bear were only momentary, his perse- 
cutors rested but for a breath, and then closed in, re- 
gardless of their own lives ; for you could discover, min- 
gled with the sharp bark of defiance, the yell that told 
of death. 

It was only while the bear was crushing some luckless 
dog, that they could cover his back, and lacerate it with 
their teeth. Bob Herring, and one of the hunters, in 
spite of the danger, crept upon their knees, so near, 
that it seemed as if another foot advanced would bring 
them within the circle of the fight. 

Bob Herring was first, within safe shooting distance 
to save the dogs, and, waving his hand to those behind 
him, he raised his rifle and sighted ; but his favorite dog, 
impatient for the report, anticipated it by jumping on 
the bear, which, throwing up his head at the same in- 
stant, received the ball in his nose; at the crack of the 
rifle — the well trained dogs, thinking less caution than 
otherwise necessary, jumped pell-mell on the bear's 
back, and the hardest fight ever witnessed in Summer 
Retreat ensued ; the hunter with Bob, placed his gun 
almost against the bear's side, and the cap snapped — no 



SUMMER RETREAT IN ARKANSAS. 4d 

one else was uear enougli to fire without hitting the 
dogs. 

" Give him the knife ! '■ cried those at a distance. 

Bob Herring's long blade was already flashing in 
his hand, but sticking a live bear is not child's play ; he 
was standing undecided, when he saw the hind legs of 
Bose upwards : thrusting aside one or two of the dogs 
with his hand, he made a pass at the bear's throat, but 
the animal was so quick, that he struck the knife with 
his fore paw, and sent it whirling into the cane ; another 
was instantly handed Bob, which he thrust at the bear, 
but the point was so blunt, that it would not penetrate 
the skin. 

Foiled a third time, with a tremendous oath on him- 
self, and the owner of a knife, " that wouldn't stick a 
cabbage," he threw it indignantly from him, and seizing, 
unceremoniously, a rifle, just then brought up by one of 
the party, heretofore in the rear ; he, utterly regardless 
of his own legs, thrust it against the side of the bear 
with considerable force, and blowed him through ; the 
bear struggled but for a moment, and fell dead. 

" I saw snakes last night in my dreams," said Bob, 
handing back the rifle to its owner — " and I never had 
any good luck the next day, arter sich a sarcumstance — 
I call this hull hunt about as mean an afi"air as damp 
powder; that bar thar," pointing to the carcass, " that 
bar thar ought to have been killed afore he maimed a 
dog." 



44 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

Then, speaking energetically, he said, " Boys, 
never fire at a bar's head, eA^en if your iron is in his 
ear, its nnsartain ; look how I missed the brain, and 
only tore the smellers ; with fewer dogs, and sich a 
shot, a fellow would be ripped open in a powder flash ; 
and I say, cuss caps, and head shooting; they would 
have cost two lives to-day, but for them ar blessed 
dogs." 

With such remarks Bob Herring beguiled away the 
time, while he, with others, skinned the bear. His huge 
carcass when dressed, though not over fat, looked like a 
huge young steer's. The dogs, as they recovered breath, 
partook of the refuse with a relish ; the nearest possible 
route out of the Eetreat was selected, and two horse 
loads took the meat into the open woods, where it was 
divided out in such a manner, that it could be taken 
home. 

Bob Herring, while the dressing of the bear was go- 
ing on, took the skin, and, on its inside surface, which 
glistened like satin, he carefully deposited the caul fat, 
and beside it the liver — the choice parts of the bear, ac- 
cording to the gourmand notions of the frontier, were in 
Bob's possession ; and many years' experience had made 
him so expert in cooking it, that he was locally famed 
for this matter above all competitors. 

It would be as impossible to give the recipe for this 
dish, so that it might be followed by the gastronomers 



^ 



SUMMER RETREAT IN ARKAJVSAS, 45 

of cities, as it would to have the articles composing it 
exposed for sale in the markets. 

Bob Herring managed it as follows : he took a long 
wooden skevrer, and having thrust its point through a 
small piece of the liver fat, he then followed it by a 
small piece of the liver, then the fat, then the liver, and 
so, on, until his most important material was consumed ; 
when this was done, he opened the " bear's handker- 
chief," or caul, and wrapped it round the whole, and 
thus roasted it before the fire. Like all the secrets in 
cookery, this dish depends, for its flavor and richness, 
upon giving exactly the proper quantities, as a super- 
abundance of one, or the other, would completely spoil 
the dish. 

" I was always unlucky, boys," said Bob — 
throwing the bear skin and its contents over his 
shoulders, " but I have had my fill often of caul fat and 
liver — many a man who thiiiks he's lucky ^ lives and dies 
as ignorant of its vartue, as a possum is of corn cake. 
If I ever look dead, boys, don't bury me until you see I 
don't open my eyes when the caul fat and liver is ready 
for eating ; if I don't move when you show me it, then 
I am a done goner, sure." 

Night closed in before we reached our homes the 

excitement of the morning wore upon our spirits and 
energy, but the evening's meal of caul fat and liver, and 
other "fixins," or Bob Herring's philosophical remarks, 



46 



THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 



restored me to perfect health, and I shall ever recollect 
that supper, and its master of ceremonies, as harmo- 
nious with, and as extraordinary as is, the '' Summer 
Retreat in Arkansas." 




TOM OWEN. 



TOM OWEN, THE BEE-HUNTER. 

As a country becomes cleared up and settled, bee-hunt- 
ers disappear, consequently they are seldom or never 
noticed beyond the immediate vicinity of their homes. 
Among this backwoods fraternity, have flourished men 
of genius, in their way, who have died unwept and un- 
noticed, while the heroes of the turf, and of the chase, 
have been lauded to the skies for every trivial superi- 
ority, they may have displayed in their respective pur- 
suits. 

To chronicle the exploits of sportsmen is commend- 
able — the custom began as early as the days of the ante- 
diluvians, for we read, that " Nimrod was a mighty 
hunter before the Lord." Familiar, however, as Nim- 
rod's name may be — or even Davy Crockett's — how un- 
satisfactory their records, when we reflect that Tom 
Owen, the bee-hunter, is comparatively unknown ? 

Yos, the mighty Tom Owen has ''huntefl.'' from the 



48 



THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTEE, 



time that he could stand alone until the present time, 
and not a pen has inked paper to record his exploits. 
" Solitar}^ and alone" has he traced his game through 
the mazy labyrinth of air ; marked, I hunted ; — I found; 
— I conquered; — upon the carcasses of his victims, and 
then marched homeward with his spoils : quietly and 
satisfiedly, sweetening his path through life; and, by its 
very obscurity, adding the principal element of the sub- 
lime. 

It was on a beautiful southern October morning, at 
the hospitable mansion of a friend, where I was staying 
to drown dull care, that I iirst had the pleasure of see- 
ing Tom Owen. 

He was, on this occasion, straggling up the rising 
ground that led to the hospitable mansion of mine host, 
and the difference between him and ordinary men was 
visible at a glance ; perhaps it showed itself as much in 
the perfect contempt of fashion that he displayed in the 
adornment of his outward man, as it did in the more ele- 
vated qualities of his mind, which were visible in his 
face. His head was adorned with an outlandish pattern 
of a hat — ^liis nether limbs were encased by a pair of 
inexpressibles, beautifully fringed by the briar-bushes 
through whicli they were often drawn ; coats and vests, 
he considered as superfluities ; hanging upon his back 
were a couple of pails, and an axe in his right hand, 
formed the varieties that represented the corpus of Tom 
Owen. 



TOM OWEN, THE BEE-HUNTER. 49 

As is usual with great men, he had his followers, 
who, with a courtier-like humility, depended upon the 
expression of his face for all their hopes of success. 

The usual salutations of meeting were sufficient to 
draw me within the circle of his influence, and I at once 
became one of his most ready followers. 

" See yonder ! " said Tom, stretching his long arm 
into infinite space, " see yonder — there's a bee." 

We all looked in the direction he pointed, but that 
was the extent of our observation. 

" It was a fine bee," continued Tom, " black body, 
yellow legs, and went into that tree," — pointing to a tow- 
ering oak, blue in the distance. " In a clear day I can 
see a bee over a mile, easy ! " 

When did Coleridge "talk" like that? And yet 
Tom Owen uttered such a saying with perfect ease. 

After a variety of meanderings through the thick 
woods, and clambering over fences, we came to our place 
of destination, as pointed out by Tom, who selected a 
mighty tree containing sweets, the possession of which 
the poets have likened to other sweets that leave a sting 
behind. 

The felling of a mighty tree is a sight that calls up 

a variety of emotions ; and Tom's game was lodged in 

one of the finest in the forest. But " the axe was laid 

at the root of the tree," which, in Tom's mind, was made 

expressly for bees to build their nests in, that he might 

cut them down, and obtain possession of their honeyed 
3 



50 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

treasure. The sharp axe, as it played in the hands of 
Tom, was replied to by a stout negro from the opposite 
side of the tree, and their united strokes fast gained 
upon the heart of their lordly victim. 

There was little poetry in the thought, that long 
before this mighty empire of States was formed, Tom 
Owen's " bee-hive" had stretched its brawny arms to the 
winter's blast, and grown green in the summer's sun. 

Yet such was the case, and how long I might have 
moralized I know not, had not the enraged buzzing 
about my ears satisfied me that the occupants of the tree 
were not going to give up their home and treasure, with- 
out showing considerable practical fight. No sooner had 
the little insects satisfied themselves that they were 
about to be invaded, than they began, one after another, 
to descend from their airy abode, and fiercely pitch into 
our faces ; anon a small company, headed by an old vet- 
eran, would charge with its entire force upon all parts 
of our body at once. 

It need not be said that the better part of valor was 
displayed by a precipitate retreat from such attacks. 

In the midst of this warfare, the tree began to trem- 
ble with the fast-repeated strokes of the axe, and then 
might have been seen a '-bee-line " of stingers precipi- 
tating themselves from above, on the unfortunate hunter 
beneath. 

Now it was that Tom shone forth in his glory, for 
his partisans — like many hangers-on about great men, 



TOM OWEN, THE BEE-HUNTER. 51 

began to desert him on the first symptoms of danger ; 
and when the trouble thickened, they, one and all, took 
to their heels, and left only our hero and Sambo to 
fight the adversaries. Sambo, however, soon dropped 
his axe, and fell into all kinds of contortions ; first he 
would seize the back of his neck with his hands, then his 
legs, and yell with pain. " Never holler till you get 
out of the woods," said the sublime Tom, consolingly ; 
but writhe the negro did, until he broke, and left Tom 
" alone in his glory." 

Cut, — thwack ! sounded through the confused hum 
at the foot of the tree, marvellously reminding me of the 
interruptions that occasionally broke in upon the other- 
wise monotonous hours of my schoolboy days. 

A sharp cracking finally told me the chopping was 
done, and, looking aloft, I saw the mighty tree balan- 
cing in the air. Slowly, and majestically, it bowed for 
the first time towards its mother earth, — gaining velo- 
city as it descended, it shivered the trees that interrupt- 
ed its downward course, and falling with thundering 
sound, splintered its mighty limbs, and buried them 
deeply in the ground. 

The sun, for the first time in at least two centuries, 
broke uninterruptedly through the chasm made in the 
forest, and shone with splendor upon the magnificent 
Tom, standing a conqueror among his spoils. 

As might be expected, the bees were very much 
astonished and confused, and by their united voices pro- 



52 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

claimed death, had it been in their power, to all their 
foes, not, of course, excepting Tom Owen himself. But 
the wary hunter was up to the tricks of his trade, and, 
like a politician, he knew how easily an enraged mob 
could be quelled with smoke ; and smoke he tried, until 
his enemies were completely destroyed. 

We, Tom's hangers-on, now approached his treasure. 
It was a rich one, and, as he observed, " contained a 
rich chance of plunder." Nine feet, by measurement, 
of the hollow of the tree was full, and this afforded 
many pails of pure honey. 

Tom was liberal, and supplied us all with more than 
we wanted, and " toted," by the assistance of Sambo, 
his share to his own home, soon to be devoured, and 
soon to be replaced by the destruction of another tree, 
and another nation of bees. 

Thus Tom exhibited within himself an unconquer- 
able genius which would have immortalized him, had he 
directed it in following the sports of Long Island or 
iS'ew Market. 

We have seen the great men of the southern turf 
glorying around the victories of their favorite sport, — 
we have heard the great western hunters detail the soul- 
stirring adventures of a bear-hunt — we have listened, 
with almost suffocating interest, to the tale of a Nan- 
tucket seaman, while he portrayed the death of a mighty 
whale — and we have also seen Tom Owen triumphantly 
engaged in a bee-hunt — we beheld and wondered at the 



SUMMER RETREAT IN ARKANSAS. 53 

sports of tlie turf — the field — and the sea — because the 
objects acted on by man were terrible, indeed, when 
their instincts were aroused. 

But, in the bee-hunt of Tom Owen, and its consum- 
mation, — the grandeur visible was imparted by the 
mighty mind of Tom Owen himself. 



AKROW-FISHINa 

In treating of tlie most beautiful and novel sport of 
arrow-fishing, its incidents are so interwoven with ten 
thousand accessories, that we scarce know how to sepa- 
rate our web, without either breaking it, or destroying a 
world of interest hidden among the wilds of the Amer- 
ican forest. 

The lakes over which the arrow-fisher twangs his 
bow, in the pleasant spring-time ; have disappeared long 
before the sere and yellow leaf of autumn appears, and 
the huntsman's horn, and the loud-mouthed pack, clamor 
melodiously after the scared deer upon their bottoms. 

To explain this phenomenon, the lover of nature 
must follow us until we exhibit some of the vagaries of 
the great Mississippi, and, having fairly got our " flood 
and field " before us, we will engage heartily in the 
sport. 



ARROW-FISHING. ^5 



If you will descend vvith me from slightly broken 
ground througli which we lave been riding, covered 
with forest trees singularly choked up with undergrowth, 
to an expanse of country beautifully open between the 
trees, the limbs of which start out from the trunk some 
thirty feet above the ground, you will find at your feet 
an herbage that is luxuriant, but scanty ; high over your 
head, upon the trees, you will perceive a line, marking 
what has evidently been an overflow of water ; you can 
trace the beautiful level upon the trunks of the trees, as 
far as the eye can reach. 

It is in the fall of the year, and a squirrel drops an 
acorn upon your shoulder, and about your feet are the 
sharp-cut tracks of the nimble deer. You are standing 
in the centre of what is called, by hunters, a " dry 

lake." 

As the warm air of April favors the opening flowers 
of spring, the waters of the Mississippi, increased by 
the melting snows of the North, swell within its low 
banks, and rush in a thousand streams back into the 
swamps and lowlands that lie upon its borders ; the tor- 
rent sweeps along into the very reservoir in which we 
stand, and the waters swell upwards until they find a 
level with the fountain itself Thus is formed the ar- 
row-fisher's lake. 

The brawny oak, the graceful pecan, the tall poplar, 
and delicate beech spring from its surface in a thousand 
tangled limbs, looking more beautiful, yet most unnat- 



56 



THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 



ural, as the water reflects them downwards, hiding com- 
pletely away their submerged trunks. The arrow-fisher 
now peeps in the nest of the wild bird from his little 
boat, and runs its prow plump into the hollow, that 
marks the doorway of some cunning squirrel. 

In fact, he navigates for awhile his bark where, in 
the fall of the year, the gay-plumed songster and the 
hungry hawk plunge mid-air, and float not more swiftly 
nor gayly, on light pinioned wings, than he in his swift 
canoe. 

A chapter from nature : and who unfolds the great 
book so understandingly, and learns so truly from its 
wisdom, as the piscator ? 



Iiter.^.. i...dit b 



>(t!^i-. 



■'-filr 



f 




a, The level of the Mississippi, at its ordinary stage of water. 
h, The height of the spring rise, c, d, The "dry lakes." By ex- 
amination of the above drawing, an idea may be formed of the 
manner of the rises of the Mississippi, The observer will notice 
that when the water is at a, the lakes c and d will be dry, afford- 
ing a fine hunting-ground for deer, &c. When the water is at 
6, the lakes are formed, and arrow-fishing is pursued, (See de- 
scription.) A correct idea may also be formed by what is meant 
by a water-line on the trees, indicating the last rise ; the water- 
line will be formed of the sediment settling on the trees at the 
line h, marked above. 



ARROW-FISHING. 57 

The rippling brook, as it dances along in the sun- 
shine, bears with it the knowledge, there is truthfulness 
in water, though it be not in a well. TVe can find 
something, if we will, to love and admire under every 
wave ; and the noises of every tiny brook are tongues 
that speak eloquently to nature's true priests. 

We have marked, that with the rise of the waters, 
the fish grow gregarious, and that they rush along in 
schools ivith the waters that floio inland from the river, 
— they thus choose these temporary sylvan lakes as 
depositories of their spawn; thus wittingly providing 
against that destruction that would await their young, 
in the highways of their journeyings. 

It is a sight to wonder at, in the wilds of the primi- 
tive forest, to see the fish rushing along the narrow in- 
lets, with the current, in numbers incredible to the im- 
agination, leaping over the fallen tree that is only half 
buried in the surface of the stream, or stayed a moment 
in their course by the meshes of the strong net, either 
bursting it by force of numbers, or granting its wasteful 
demands by thousands, without seemingly to diminish 
the multitude, more than a single leaf taken from the 
forest would perceptibly alter the vegetation. 

We have marked, too, that these fish would besport 
themselves in their new homes, secluding themselves in 
the shadows of the trees and banks ; and, as the sum- 
mer heats come on, they would grow unquiet ; the out- 
lets leading to the great river they had left would be 
3* 



58 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

thronged by what seemed to be busy couriers ; and 
when the news finally spread oi falling water ^ one night 
would suffice to make the lake, before so thronged with 
finny life, deserted; and a few nights only, perhaps, would 
pass, when the narrow bar would intrude itself between 
the inland lake and the river, that supplied it with 
water. 

Such was the fish's wisdom, seen and felt, where 
man, with his learning and his nicely-wrought mechan- 
isms, would watch in vain the air, the clouds, and see 
" no signs " of falling water.* 

Among arrow-fishermen there are technicalities, an 
understanding of which will give a more ready idea of 
the sport. The surfaces of these inland lakes are un- 
ruffled by the winds or storms ; the heats of the sun 
seem to rest upon them ; they are constantly sending 
into the upper regions, warm mists. Their surfaces, 

* It may not be uninteresting to naturalists to be informed, 
that these fish run into the inland lakes to spawn, and they do 
it of course ■with the rise of the water. These everflows are 
annual. A few years since the season was very singular, and 
there were three distinct rises and falls of water, and at each 
rise the fish followed the water inland, and spawned: a remark- 
able example where the usual order of nature was reversed in 
one instance, and yet continuing blindly consistent in another. 
It is also very remarkable that the young fish, native of the 
lakes, are as interested to mark the indications of falling water 
as those that coine into them ; and in a long series of years of 
observation, but one fall was ever known before the fish had 
left the lakes. 



ARROW-FISHING. 59 

however, are covered with innumerable bubbles, either 
floating about, or breaking into little circling ripples. 

To the superficial observer, these air-bubbles mean 
little or nothing; to the arrow-fisherman they are the 
very language of his art ; visible writing upon the un- 
stable water, unfolding the secrets of the depths below, 
and guiding him, with unerring certainty, in his pur- 
suits. 

Seat yourself quietly in this little skiff", and while I 
paddle quietly out into the lake, I will translate to you 
these apparent wonders, and give you a lesson in the 
simj)le language of nature. 

" An air-bubble is an air-bubble," you say, and 
"your fine distinctions must be in the imagination." 

Well ! then mark how stately ascends that large 
globule of air ; if you will time each succeeding one by 
your watch, you will find that while they appear, it is at 
regular intervals, and when they burst upon the surface 
of the water, there is the least spray in the world spark- 
ling for an instant in the sun. Now, yonder, if you will 
observe, are very minute bubbles that seem to simmer 
towards the surface. Could 3'ou catch the air of the 
first bubble we noticed, and give it to an ingenious 
chemist^ he would tell you that it was a light gas, that 
exhaled from decaying vegetable matter. 

The arrow-fisherman will tell you that it comes from 
an old stump, and is denominated a dead bubble. That 
" simmering " was made by some comfortable turtle, as 



60 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

he opened his mouth and gave his breath to the sur- 
rounding element. 

Look ahead of you : when did you ever see an Ar- 
chimedean screw more beautifully marked out than by 
that group of bubbles ? They are very light, indeed, 
and seem thus gracefully to struggle into the upper 
world ; they denote the eager workings of some terrapin 
in the soft mud at the bottom of the lake. In the shade 
of yonder lusty oak, you will perceive what arrow-fisher- 
men call a "feed;" you see that the bubbles are entirely 
unlike any we have noticed ; they come rushing upwards 
swiftly, like handfuls of silver shot. They are lively 
and animated to look at, and are caused by the fish be- 
low, as they, around the root of that very oak, search 
for insects for food. To those bubbles the arrow-fisher- 
man hastens for game ; they are made by the fish that 
he calls legitimate for his sport. 

In early spring the fish are discovered, not only by 
the bubbles they make, but by various sounds, uttered 
while searching for food. These sounds are familiar- 
ized, and betray the kind of fish that make them. In 
late spring, from the middle of May to June, the fish 
come near the surface of the water, and expose their 
mouths to the air, keeping up, at the same time, a con- 
stant motion with it, called " piping." 

Fish thus exposed are in groups, and are called a 
" float." The cause of this phenomenon is hard to ex- 
plain, all reasons given being unsatisfactory. As it is 



ARROW-FISHING. 61 

only exhibited in the hottest of weather, it may be best 
accounted for in the old verse : 

" The sun, from its perpendicular height, 
Illumined the depths of the sea ; 
The fishes, beginning to sweat, 

Ci'y, 'Dang it, how hot we shall be ! * " 

There are several kinds of jBsh that attract the at- 
tention of the arrow-fishermen. Two kinds only are 
professedly pursued, the " carp " and the "bufi'alo." 
Several others, however, are attacked for the mere pur- 
pose of amusement, among which we may mention a spe- 
cies of perch, and the most extraordinary of all fish, the 



6' 



The carp is a fish known to all anglers. Its habits 
must strike every one familiar with them, as being emi- 
nently in harmony with the retreats we have described. 
In these lakes they vary in weight from five to thirty 
pounds, and are preferred bv arrow-fishermen to all 
other fish. 

The " buffalo," a sort of fresh-water sheep's-head, is 
held next in estimation. A species of perch is also 
taken, that vary from three to ten pounds, in weight ; 
but as they are full of bones and coarse in flesh, they 
are killed simply to test the skill of the arrow-fisher- 



man. 



* The carp, to which we allude, is so accurately described in 
its habits in "Blane's Encyclopedia of Rural Sports," when 



62 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

The incredible increase of fishes has been a matter 
of immemorial observation. In the retired lakes and 
streams we speak of, but for a wise arrangement of 
Providence, it seems not improbable that they would 
outgrow the very space occupied by the element in 
which they exist, To prevent this consummation, there 
are fresh water fiends, more terrible than the wolves and 
tigers of the land, that prowl on the finny tribe, with an 
appetite commensurate with their pleutifulness, destroy- 
ing millions in a day, yet leaving, from their abundance, 
untold numbers to follow their habits and the cycle of 
their existence undisturbed. These terrible destroyers 
have no true representatives in the sea ; they seem to 
be peculiar to waters tributary to the Mississippi. 

speaking of the European carp, that we are tempted to make 
one or two extracts that are remarkable for their truthfulness 
as applied to the section of the United States where arrow- 
fishing is a sport. In the work we allude to, we have the fol- 
lowing : 

"The usual length of the carp in our own country (England) 
is from about twelve to fifteen or sixteen inches ; but in warm 
climates, it often arrives at tbe length of two, three, or four feet, 
and to the weight of twenty, thirty, or even forty pounds." 
Par. 3448. Again, "The haunts of the cai'p of stagnant water 
are, during the spring and autumn months, in the deepest parts, 
particularly near the flood-gates by which water is received and 
let off. In the summer months they frequent the weed beds, 
and come near to the surface, and particularly are fond of aquatic 
plants, which spring from the bottom and rise to the top." Par. 
3453. AVe find that the fish retains the same distinctive habits 
in both hemispheres, altering only from the peculiarities of the 
country. 



ARROW-FISHING. 



63 



There are two kinds of them, alike in office, but distinct 
in species ; they are known by those who fish in the 
streams which they inhabit as the "gar." They are, ^hen 
grown to their full size, twelve or fifteen feet in length, 
voracious monsters to look at, so well made for strength, 
so perfectly protected from assault, so capable of inflict- 
ing injury. The smaller kind, growing not larger than 
six feet, have a body that somewhat resembles in form 
the pike, covered by what looks more like large, flat 
heads of wrought iron, than scales, which it is impossi- 
ble to remove without cutting them out— they are so 
deeply imbedded in the flesh. The jaws of this mon- 
ster, form about one fourth of its whole length; they are 
shaped like the bill of a goose, armed in the interior 
with triple rows of teeth, as sharp, and well set, as those 

of a saw. 

But the terror, is the '• alligator gar," a monster that 
seems to combine all the most destructive powers of the 
shark and the reptile. The alligator gar grows to the 
enormous length of fifteen feet; its head resembles the 
alligator's; within its wide-extended jaws glisten in- 
numerable rows of teeth, running, in solid columns, 
down into its very throat. Blind in its instinct to de- 
stroy, and singularly tenacious of life, it seems to prey 
with untiring energy, and with an appetite that is in- 
creased by gratification. 

Such are the fish, that are made victims of the mere 
sport of the arrow-fisherman. 



G4 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

The implements of the arrow-fisherman are a strong 
bow, five or six feet long, made of black locust or of 
cedar (the latter being preferred), and an arrow of ash, 
three feet long, pointed with an iron spear of peculiar 
construction. The spear is eight inches long, one end 
has a socket, in which is fitted loosely the wooden shaft ; 
the other end is a flattened point ; back of this point 
there is inserted the barb, which shuts into the iron as 
it enters an object, but will open if attempted to be 
drawn out. The whole of this iron-work weighs three 
ounces. A cord, about the size of a crow-quill, fifteen 
or twenty feet long, is attached to the spear, by which 
is held the fish when struck. 



1 




Of the water-craft used in arrow-fishing, much might 
be said, as it introduces the common Indian canoe, or as 
it is familiarly termed, the '' dug out," which is nothing 
more than a trunk of a tree, shaped according to the hu- 
mor or taste of its artificer, and hollowed out. 

We have seen some of these rude barks that claimed 
but one degree of beauty or utility beyond the common 
log, and we have seen others as gracefully turned as was 
ever the bosom of the loving swan, and that would, as 
gracefully as Leda's bird, spring through the rippling 
waves. 



ARROW FISHING. 65 

The arrow-fisher prefers a canoe with very little rake, 
quite flat on the bottom, and not more than fifteen feet 
long, so as to be quickly turned. Place in this simple 
craft the simpler paddle, lay beside it the arrow, the 
bow, the cord, and you have the whole outfit of the ar- 
row-fisherman. 

To the uninitiated, the guidance of a canoe Is a mys- 
tery. The grown-up man, who first attempts to move on 
skates over the glassy ice, has a command of his limbs, 
and a power of locomotion, that the novice in canoe navi- 
gation has not. Never at rest, it seems to rush from 
under his feet ; overbalanced by an overdrawn breath, 
it precipitates its victim into the water. Every efl"ort 
renders it more and more unmanageable, until it is con- 
demned as worthless. 

But, let a person accustomed to its movements take 
it in charge, and it gayly launches into the stream ; 
whether standing or sitting, the master has it entirely 
under his control, moving any way with a quickness, a 
pliability, quite wonderful, forward, sideways, back- 
wards ; starting oif in an instant, or while at the great- 
est speed, instantly stopping still, and doing all this 
more perfectly, than with any other water-craft of the 
world. 

In arrow-fishing, two persons are only employed ; 
each one has his work designated — " the paddler" and 
" bowman." 

Before the start is made, a perfect understanding is 



66 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUx\TER. 

had, so that their movements aTe governed by signs. 
The delicate canoe is pushed into the lake, its occupants 
scarcely breathe to get it balanced, the paddler is seated 
in its bottom, near its centre, where he remains, govern- 
ing the canoe in all its motions, without eve?' taking the 
paddle from the water. 

The fisherman stands at the bow ; around the wrist 
of his left hand is fastened, by a loose loo]3, the cord at- 
tached to the arrow, which cord is wound around the 
forefinger of the same hand, so that when paying off, it 
will do so easily. In the same hand is, of course, held 
the bow. In the right is carried the arrow, and, by its 
significant pointing, the paddler gives directions for the 
movements of the canoe. 

The craft glides along, scarcely making a ripple ; a 
" feed " is discovered, over which the canoe stops ; the 
bowman draws his arrow to the head ; the game, dis- 
turbed, is seen in the clear water rising slowly and per- 
pendicularly, but otherwise perfectly motionless ; the 
arrow speeds its way ; in an instant the shaft shoots 
into the air, and floats quietly away, while the wounded 
fish, carrying the spear in its body, endeavours to 
escape. 

The '■' pull ■' is managed so as to come directly from 
the bow of the canoe ; it lasts but for a moment before 
the transfixed fish is seen, fins playing, and full of ago- 
nizing life, dancing on the top of the water, and in an- 
other instant more lies dead at the bottom of the canoe. 



/v- 







''<^V Del 



kso*^ 



tbert 



" The bowman iliavvs his aiiow ti) the head."— pt/gfe 6G. 



) 



ARllOW FISHING. 67 

The shaft is then gone after, picked up, and thrust into 
the spear ; the cord is again adjusted, and the canoe 
moves towards the merry makers of those swift ascend- 
ing bubbles, so brightly displaying themselves on the 
edge of that deep shade, cast by yonder evergreen oak. 

There is much in the associations of arrow-fishing 
that gratifies taste, and makes it partake of a refined 
and intellectual character. Beside the knowledge it 
gives of the character of fishes, it practises one in the 
curious refractions of water. Thus wdll the arrow-fish- 
erman, from long experience, drive his pointed shaft a 
fathom deep for game, when it would seem, to the nov- 
ice, that a few inches would be more than sufiicient. 

Again, the waters that supply the arrow-fisherman 
with game, afford subsistence to innumerable birds, and 
he has exhibited before him, the most beautiful displays 
of their devices to catch the finny tribe. 

The kingfisher may be seen the livelong day, acting 
a prominent part, bolstering up its fantastic topknot, as 
if to apologize for a manifest want of neck ; you can 
hear him always scolding and clamorous among the low 
brush, and overhanging limits of trees, eyeing the min- 
nows as they glance along the shore, and making vain 
essays to fasten them in his bill. 

The hawk, too, often swoops down from the clouds, 
swift as the bolt of Jove ; the cleft air whistles in the 
flight : the sportive fish, playing in the sunlight, is 
snatched up in the rude talons, and borne aloft, the 



68 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

reeking water from its scaly sides falling in soft spray 
upon the upturned eye that traces its daring course. 
But we treat of fish, and not of birds. 

Yonder is our canoe ; the paddle has stopped it 
short, just where you see those faint bubbles; the water 
is very deep beneath them, and reflects the frail bark 
and its occupants, as clearly as if they were floating in 
mid air. The bowman looks into the water — the fish 
are out of sight, and not disturbed by the intrusion 
above them. They are eating busily, judging from the 
ascending bubbles. 

The bowman lets fall the " heel " of his arrow on 
the bottom of the canoe, and the bubbles instantly cease. 
The slight tap has made a great deal of noise in the 
water, though scarcely heard out of it. There can be 
seen rising to the surface a tremendous carp. How qui- 
etly it comes upwards, its pectoral fins playing like the 
wings of the sportive butterfly. Another moment, and 
the cold iron is in its body. 

Paralyzed for an -instant, the fish rises to the surface 
as if dead, then, recovering itself, it rushes downwards, 
until the cord that holds it prisoner tightens, and 
makes the canoe tremble ; the eff"ort has destroyed it, 
and without another struD-gle it is secured. 

When the fish first come into the lakes, they move in 
pairs on the surface of the water, and while so doing 
they are shot, as it is called, '' flying." 

In early spring fifteen or twenty fish are secured in 



ARROW-FISHING. 69 

an hour. As the season advances, three or four taken 
in the same length of time, is considered quite good 
success. 

To stand ujDon the shore, and see the arrow-fisherman 
busily employed, is a very interesting exhibition of 
skill, and of the picturesque. The little " dug out" 
seems animate with intelligence ; the bowman draws his 
long shaft, you see it enter the water, and then follows 
the glowing sight of the fine fish sparkling in the sun, as 
if sprinkled with diamonds. 

At times, too, when legitimate sport tires, some ra- 
venous gar that heaves in sight, is made a victim ; aim 
is taken just ahead of his dorsal fin ; secured, he floun- 
ders a while, and then drags off the canoe as if in har- 
ness, skimming it almost out of the water with his speed. 
Fatigued, finally, with his useless endeavours to escape, 
he will rise to the surface, open his huge mouth, and 
gasp for air. The water that streams from his jaws 
will be colored with blood from the impaled fish that 
still strug-D-le in the terrors of his barbed teeth. Rush- 

CO 

ing ahead again, he will, by eccentric movements, try 
the best skill of the paddler to keep his canoe from 
overturning into the lake, a consummation not always 
unattained. The gar finally dies, and is dragged ashore ; 
this buzzard revels on his carcass, and every piscator 
contemplates, with disgust, the great enemy to his game, 
this terrible monarch of the fresh-water seas. 

The crumbline: character of the alluvial banks that 



70 TIIE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

line our southern streams, the quantity of fallen timber, 
the amount of '' snags" and " sawyers," and the great 
plentifulness of game, make the beautiful art of angling, 
as pursued in our Northern States, impossible. 

The veriest tyro, who finds a delicate reed in every 
nook that casts a shadow in the water, with his rough 
line, and coarser hook, can catch fish. The greedy 
perch, in all its beautiful varieties, swim eagerly and 
swiftly around the snare, and swallow it, without sus- 
picion that a worm is not a worm, or that appearances 
are ever deceitful. The jointed rod, the scientific reel, 
cannot be used ; the thick hanging bough, the rank 
grass, the sunken log, the far reaching Qnelumbium, the 
ever still water, make these delicate appliances useless. 

Arrow-fishing only, of all the angling in the interior 
streams of the southwest, comparatively speaking, claims 
the title of an art, as it is pursued with a skill and a 
thorough knowledge that tell only with the experienced, 
and to the novice, is an impossibility. 

The originators of arrow-fishino; deserve the credit of 
striking out a rare and beautiful amusement, when the 
difficulties of securing their game did not require it, 
showing that it resulted in the spirit of true sport 
alone. 

The origin of arrow-fishing we know not ; the coun- 
try where it is pursued is comparatively of recent set- 
tlement ; scarce three generations have passed away 
within its boundaries. 



ARROW-FISHING. 71 

We asked the oldest piscator that lived in the vici- 
nity of these " dry lakes," for information regarding the 
early history of arrow-fishing, and he told us, that it was 
" invented by old Uncle Zac," and gave us his history 
in a brief and pathetic manner, concluding his reminis- 
cences of the great departed, as follows : 

" Uncle Zac never know'd nothing 'bout flies, or tick- 
ling trout, but it took him to tell the difference 'twixt 
a yarth worm, a grub, or the young of a w^asp's nest ; in 
fact, he know'd fishes amazin', and bein' natur-ally a 
hunter, he went to shooten 'em wHtli a bow and arrer, to 
keep up yerly times in his history, when he tuck Inguns 
and other varmints, in the same way." 



THE BIG BEAR OF AEKANSAS. 

A STEAMBOAT Oil the Mississippi, frequently , in making 
her regular trips, carries between places varying from 
one to two thousand miles apart ; and, as these boats 
advertise to land passengers and freight at "all inter- 
mediate landings," the heterogeneous character of the 
passengers of one of these up-country boats can scarcely 
be imagined by one who has never seen it with his own 
eyes. 

Starting from New Orleans in one of these boats, 
you will find yourself associated with men from every 
State in the Union, and from every portion of the globe; 
and a man of observation need not lack for amusement 
or instruction in such a crowd, if he will take the trouble 
to read the great book of character so favorably opened 
before him. 

Here may be seen, jostling together, the wealthy 




WHIfNt ' v.. -L 

Tbe Bii.' Bear of Arkansas. 



THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 73 

Southern planter and the pedler of tin-ware from New 
England — the Northern merchant and the Southern 
jockey — a venerable bishop, and a desperate gambler — 
the land speculator, and the honest farmer — professional 
men of all creeds and characters — Wolvereens, Suckers, 
Hoosiers, Buckeyes, and Corncrackers, beside a "plen- 
tiful sprinkling " of the half-horse and half- alligator 
species of men, who are peculiar to " old Mississippi," 
and who appear to gain a livelihood by simply going up 
and down the river. In the pursuit of pleasure or busi- 
ness, I have frequently found myself in such a crowd. 

On one occasion, when in New Orleans, I had occa- 
sion to take a trip of a few miles up the Mississippi, 
and I hurried on board the well-known " high-pressure- 
and-beat-every-thing " steamboat " Invincible," just as 
the last note of the last bell was sounding ; and when 
the confusion and bustle that is natural to a boat's 
getting under way had subsided, I discovered that I 
was associated in as heterogeneous a crowd as was ever 
got together. As my trip was to be of a few hours' 
duration only, I made no endeavors to become acquainted 
with my fellow-passengers, most of whom would be to- 
gether many days. Instead of this, I took out of my 
pocket the " latest paper," and more critically than 
usual examined its contents ; my fellow-passengers, at 
the same time, disposed of themselves in little groups. 

While I was thus busily employed in reading, and 

my companions were more busily still employed, in 
4 



74 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

discussing such subjects as suited their humors best, 
we were most unexpectedly startled by a loud Indian 
whoop, uttered in the ''social hall," that part of the 
cabin fitted off for a bar ; then was to be heard a loud 
crowing, which would not have continued to interest us 
— such sounds being (j^uite common in that place of 
spirits — had not the hero of these windy accomplish- 
ments stuck his head into the cabin, and hallooed out, 
" Hurra for the Big Bear of Arkansaw ! " 

Then might be heard a confused hum of voices, un- 
intelligible, save in such broken sentences as " horse," 
" screamer," " lightning is slow," &c. 

As might have been expected, this continued inter- 
ruption, attracted the attention of every one in the cabin ; 
all conversation ceased, and in the midst of this surprise, 
the " Big Bear " walked into the cabin, took a chair, put 
his feet on the stove, and looking back over his shoul- 
der, passed the general and familiar salute — " Strangers, 
how are you ?" 

He then expressed himself as much at home as if he 
had been at " the Forks of Cypress," and " prehaps a 
little more so." 

Some of the company at this familiarity looked a 
little angry, and some astonished ; but in a moment 
every face was wreathed in a smile. There was some- 
thing about the intruder that won the heart on sight. 
He appeared to be a man enjoying perfect health and 
contentment ; his eyes were as sparkling as diamonds. 



4 



THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 75 

and good-natured to simplicity. Then his perfect con- 
fidence in himself was irresistibly droll. 

" Prehaps," said he, " gentlemen," running on without 
a person interrupting, " prehaps you have been to New 
Orleans often ; I never made the first visit before, and 
I don't intend to make another in a crow's life. I am 
thrown away in that ar place, and useless, that ar a fact. 
Some of the gentlemen thar called me green — well, pre- 
haps I am, said I, but I arrCt so at home ; and if I aint 
off my trail much, the heads of them perlite chaps them- 
selves wern't much the hardest ; for according to my 
notion, they were real know-nothings, green as a pump- 
kin-vine — couldn't, in farming, I'll bet, raise a crop of 
turnips ; and as for shooting, they'd miss a barn if the 
door was swinging, and that, too, with the best rifle in 
the country. And then they talked to me 'bout hunt- 
ing, and laughed at my calling the principal game in 
Arkansaw poker, and high-low- jack. 

" ' Prehaps,' said I, ' you prefer checkers and roulette ;' 
at this they laughed harder than ever, and asked me if 
I lived in the woods, and didn't know what game was ? 

" At this, I rather think / laughed. 

" ' Yes,' I roared, and says, I, ' Strangers, if you'd 
asked me how we got our meat in Arkansaw, I'd a told 
you at once, and given you a list of varmints that would 
make a caravan, beginning with the bar, and ending off 
with the cat ; that's m^at though, not game. 

" G-ame, indeed, — that's what city folks call it ; and 



76 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

with them it means chippen-birds and shite-pokes ; may 
be such trash live in my diggins, but I arn't noticed 
them yet : a bird anyway is too trifling. I never did 
shoot at but one, and I'd never forgiven myself for that, 
had it weighed less than forty pounds. I wouldn't 
draw a rifle on any thing less heavy than that ; and 
when I meet with another wild turkey of the same size, 
I will drap him." 

" A wild turkey weighing forty pounds ! " exclaimed 
twenty voices in the cabin at once. 

" Yes, strangers, and wasn't it a whopper ? You 
see, the thing was so fat that it couldn't fly far ; and 
when he fell out of the tree, after I shot him, on striking 
the ground he bust open behind, and the way the pound 
gobs of tallow rolled out of the opening was perfectly 
beautiful." 

" Where did all that happen ? " asked a cynical-look- 
ing Hoosier. 

" Happen ! happened in Arkansaw : where else 
could it have happened, but in the creation State, the 
finishing-up country — a State where the sile runs down 
to the centre of the 'arth, and government gives you a 
title to every inch of it ? Then its airs — ^just breathe 
them, and they will make you snort like a horse. It's 
a State without a fault, it is." 

" Excepting mosquitoes," cried the Hoosier. 

" Well, stranger, except them ; for it ar a fact that 
they nre rather cnor^nous^ and do push themselves in 



THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 77 

somewhat troublesome. But, stranger, they never stick 
twice in the same place ; and give them a fair chance 
for a few months, and you will get as much above no- 
ticiEg them as an alligator. They can't hurt my feel- 
ings, for they lay under the skin ; and I never knew but 
one case of injury resulting from them, and that was to 
a Yankee : and they take worse to foreigners, any how, 
than they do to natives. But the way they used that 
fellow up ! first they punched him until he swelled up 
and busted ; then he sup-per-a-ted, as the doctor called 
it, until he was as raw as beef; then, owing to the 
warm weather, he tuck the ager, and finally he tuck a 
steamboat and left the country. He was the only man 
that ever tuck mosquitoes at heart that I knowd of. 

" But mosquitoes is natur, and I never find fault 
with her. If they ar large, Arkansaw is large, her var- 
mints ar large, her trees ar large, her rivers ar large, 
and a small mosquito would be of no more use in Ar- 
kansaw than preaching in a cane-brake." 

This knock-down argument in favor of big mos- 
quitoes used the Hoosier up, and the logician started 
on a new track, to explain how numerous bear were in 
his " diggins," where he represented them to be " about 
as plenty as blackberries, and a little plentifuller." 

Upon the utterance of this assertion, a timid little 
man near me inquired, if the bear in Arkansaw ever 
attacked the settlers in numbers ? 

" No,"' said our hero, warming with the subject, " no, 



78 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

stranger, for you see it ain't the natur of bear to go in 
droves ; but the way they squander about in pairs and 
single ones is edifying. 

" And then the way I hunt them — the old black.^.j^g- 
cals know the crack of my gun as well as they know a 
pig's squealing. They grow thin in our parts, it fright- 
ens them so, and they do take the noise dreadfully, poor 
things. That gun of mine is a perfect epidemic among 
bQar : if not watched closely, it will ga off as quick on a 
warm scent as my dog Bowieknife will : and then that 
dog — whew ! why the fellow thinks that the world is 
full of bear, he finds them so easy. It's lucky he don't 
talk as well as think ; for with his natural modesty, if 
he should suddenly learn how much he is acknowledged 
to be ahead of all other dogs in the universe, he would 
be astonished to death in two minutes. 

" Strangers, that dog knows a bear's way as well as 
a horse-jockey knows a woman's : he always barks at the 
right time, bites at the exact place, and whips without 
getting a scratch. 

" I never could tell whether he was made expressly 
to hunt bear, or whether bear was made expressly for 
him to hunt ; any way, I believe they were ordained to 
go together as naturally as Squire Jones says a man and 
woman is, when he moralizes in marrying a couple. In 
fact, Jones once said, said he, ' Marriage according to 
law is a civil contract of divine origin ; it's common to 
all countries as well as Arkansaw, and people take to it 



THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 79 

as naturally as Jim Doggett's Bowieknife takes to 
bear.'" 

" "What season of the year do your hunts take 
place?" inquired a gentlemanly foreigner, who, from 
some peculiarities of his baggage, I suspected to be an 
Englishman, on some hunting expedition, probably at 
the foot of the Rocky Mountains. 

" The season for bear hunting, stranger," said the 
man of Arkansaw, " is generally all the year round, and 
the hunts take place about as regular. I read in his- 
tory that varmints have their fat season, and their lean 
season. That is not the case in Arkansaw, feeding as 
they do upon the sjjontenacious productions of the sile, 
they have one continued fat season the year round ; 
though in winter things in this way is rather more 
greasy than in summer, I must admit. For that reason 
bear with us run in warm weather, but in winter they 
only waddle. 

" Fat, fat ! its an enemy to speed ; it tames every 
thing that has plenty of it. I have seen wild turkeys, 
from its influence, as gentle as chickens. Run a bear in 
this fat condition, and the way it improves the critter for 
eating is amazing ; it sort of mixes the ile up with the 
meat, until you can't tell t'other from which. I've done 
this often. 

" I recollect one perty morning in particular, of 
putting an old he fellow on the stretch, and considering 
the weight he carried, he run well. But the dogs soon 



80 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

tired him down, and when I came up with him wasn't 
he in a beautiful sweat — I might say fever ; and then to 
see his tongue sticking out of his mouth a feet, and his 
sides sinking and opening like a bellows, and his cheeks 
so fat that he couldn't look cross. In this fix I blazed 
at him, and pitch me naked into a briar patch, if the 
steam didn't come out of the bullet-hole ten foot in a 
straight line. The fellow, I reckon, was made on the 
high-pressure system, and the lead sort of bust his 
biler." 

" That column of steam was rather curious, or else 
the bear must have been very ivarm^'' observed the for- 
eigner, with a laugh. 

" Stranger, as you observe, that bear was warm, and 
the blowing off of the steam show'd it, and also how hard 
the varmint had been run. I have no doubt if he had 
kept on two miles farther his insides would have been 
stewed ; and I expect to meet with a varmint yet of ex- 
tra bottom, that will run himself into a skinfuU of bear's 
grease : it is possible ', much onlikelier things have 
happened." 

" Whereabouts r.re these bears so abundant ? " in* 
quired the foreigner, with increasing interest. 

" Why, stranger, they inhabit the neighborhood of 
my settlement, one of the prettiest places on old Mis- 
sissipp — a perfect location, and no mistake ; a place 
that had some defects until the river made the ' cut-off ' 
at ' Shirt-tail bend,' and that remedied the evil, as it 



THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 81 

brought my cabin on the edge of the river — a great ad- 
vantage in wet weather, I assure you, as you can now 
roll a barrel of whiskey into my yard in high water from 
a boat, as easy as falling off a log. It's a great improve- 
ment, as toting it by land in a jug, as 1 used to do, eva- 
porated it too fast, and it became expensive. 

" Just stop with me, stranger, a month or two, or a 
year, if you like, and you will appreciate my place. I 
can give you plenty to eat ; for beside hog and hominy, 
you can have bear-ham, and b<?ar-sausages, and a mattrass 
of bpar-skins to sleep on, and a wildcat-skin, pulled off 
hull, stuffed with corn-shucks, for a pillow. That bed 
would put you to sleep if you had the rheumatics in 
every joint in your body. I call that ar bed, a quietus. 

" Then look at my ' pre-emption ' — the government 
aint got another like it to dispose of. Such timber, and 
such bottom land, — why you can't preserve any thing 
natural you plant in it unless you pick it young, things 
thar will grow out of shape so quick. 

I once planted in those diggins a few potatoes and 
beets ; they took a fine start, and after that, an ox team 
couldn't have kept them from growing. About that time 
I went off" to old Kaintuck on business, and did not hear 
from them things in three months, when I accidentally 
stumbled on a fellow who had drapped in at my place, 
with an idea of buying me out. 

" ' How did you like things ? ' said I. 

" ' Pretty well,' said he ; * the cabin is convenient, 

4* ' 



82 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

and the timber land is good ; but tbat bottom land aint 
worth the first red cent.' " 

"'Why?' said I. 

" * 'Cause,' said he. 

" ' 'Cause what ? ' said I. 

" ' 'Cause it's full of cedar stumps and Indian 
mounds, and can't be cleared.'' 

" ' Lord,' said I, ' them ar " cedar stumps " is 
beets, and them ar " Indian mounds " tater hills.' 

" As I had expected, the crop was overgrown and use- 
less : the sile is too rich, and planting in Arkansaiv is 
dangerous. 

" I had a good-sized sow killed in that same bottom- 
land. The old thief stole an ear of corn, and took it 
down to eat where she slept at night. Well, she left a 
grain or two on the ground, and lay down on them : be- 
fore morning the corn shot up, and the percussion killed 
her dead. I don't plant any more : natur intended 
Arkansaw for a hunting ground, and I go according to 
natur." 

The questioner, who had thus elicited the description 
of our hero's settlement, seemed to be perfectly satis- 
fied, and said no more ; but the " Big Bear of Arkansaw" 
rambled on from one thing to another with a volubility 
perfectly astonishing, occasionally disputing with those 
around him, particularly with a " live Sucker" from 
Illin.ois, who had the daring to say that our Arkansaw 
friend's stories " smelt rather tall." 



I 



THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 83 

The evening was nearly spent by the incidents we 
have detailed ; and conscious that my own association 
with so singular a personage would probably end before 
morning, I asked him if he would not give me a descrip- 
tion of some particular bear hunt ; adding, that I took 
great interest in such things, though I was no sports- 
man. The desire seemed to please him, and he squared 
himself round towards me, saying, that he could give me 
an idea of a b^-ar hunt that was never beat in this world, 
or in any other. His manner was so singular, that half 
of his story consisted in his excellent way of telling it, 
the great peculiarity of which was, the happy manner he 
had of emphasizing the prominent parts of his conversa- 
tion. As near as I can recollect, I have italicized the 
words, and given the story in his own way. 

"Stranger," said he, "in bear hunts I a7)i numerous^ 
and which particular one, as you say, I shall tell, puz- 
zles me. 

" There was the old she devil I shot at the Hurri- 
cane last fall — then there was the old hog thief I pop- 
ped over at the Bloody Crossing, and then — Yes, I have 
it ! I will give you an idea of a hunt, in which the 
greatest bear was killed that ever lived, none excepted ; 
about an old fellow that I hunted, more or less, for two 
or three years ; and if that aint a 'particular hear hunt, 
I ain't got one to tell. 

" But in the first place, stranger, let me say, I am 
pleased with you, because you aint ashamed to gain in- 



84 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

formation by asking and listening ; and that's what I 
say to Countess's pups every day when I'm home ; and 
I have got great hopes of them ar pups, because they are 
continually nosing about ; and though they stick it 
sometimes in the wrong place, they gain experience any 
how, and may learn something useful to boot. 

" Well, as I was saying about this big bear, you see 
when I and some more first settled in our region, we 
were drivin to hunting naturally ; we soon liked it, and 
after that we found it an easy matter to make the thing 
our business. One old chap who had pioneered 'afore 
us, gave us to understand that we had settled in the 
right place. He dwelt upon its merits until it was af- 
fecting, and showed us, to prove his assertions, more 
scratches on the bark of the sassafras trees, than I ever 
saw chalk marks on a tavern door 'lection time. 

" ' Who keeps that ar reckoning ? ' said I. 

" ' The bear,' said he. 

" ' What for ? ' said I. 
• " ' Can't tell,' said he ; ' but so it is : the bear bite 
the bark and wood too, at the highest point from the 
ground they can reach, and you can tell, by the marks,' 
said he, ' the length of the bear to an inch.' 

" ' Enough,' said I ; ' I've learned something here 
a'ready, and I'll put it in practice.' 

" Well, stranger, just one month from that time I 
killed a bar, and told its exact length before I measured 



I 



THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 85 

it, by those very marks ; and when I did that, I swelled 
up considerably — I've been a prouder man ever since. 

" So I went on, larniug something every day, until I 
was reckoned a buster, and allowed to be decidedly the 
best bear hunter in my district; and that is a reputation 
as much harder to earn than to be reckoned first man in 
Congress, as an iron ramrod is harder than a toadstool. 
'' Do the varmints grow over-cunning by being fool- 
ed with by greenhorn hunters, and by this means get 
troublesome, they send for me, as a matter of course ; 
and thus I do my own hunting, and most of my neigh- 
bors'. I walk into the varmints though, and it has be- 
come about as much the same to me as drinkinir. It is 
told in two sentences — 

" A bear is started, and he is killed. 
" The thing is somewhat monotonous now — I know 
just how much they will run, where they will tire, how 
much they will growl, and what a thundering time I will 
have in getting their meat home. I could give you the 
history of the chase with all the particulars at the com- 
mencement, I know the signs so well — Stranger^ Pm 
certain. Once I met with a match, though, and I will 
tell you about it ; for a common hunt would not be worth 
relating. 

" On a fine fall day, long time ago, I was trailing 
about for bear, and what should I see but fresh marks on 
the sassafras trees, about eight inches above any in the 
forests that I knew of. Says I, ' Them marks is a hoax, 



86 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

or it indicates the d 1 b^^ar that was ever grown.' In 

fact, stranger, I couldn't believe it was real, and I went 
on. Again I saw the same marks, at the same height, 
and / kjiew the thing lived. That conviction came 
home to my soul like an earthquake. 

" Says Ij ' Here is something a-purpose for me : that 
bear is mine, or I give up the hunting business.' The 
very next morning, what should I see but a number of 
buzzards hovering over my corn-field. ' The rascal has 
been there,' said I, ' for that sign is certain :' and, sure 
enough, on examining, I found the bones of what had 
been as beautiful a hog the day before, as was ever 
raised by a Buckeye. Then I tracked the critter out 
of the field to the woods, and all the marks he left be- 
hind, showed me that he was the bear. 

" Well, stranger, the first fair chase I ever had with 
that big critter, I saw him no less than three distinct 
times at a distance : the dogs run him over eighteen 
miles and broke down, my horse gave out, and I was as 
nearly used up as a man can be, made on my principle, 
which is patent. 

" Before this adventure, such things were unknown 
to me as possible ; but, strange as it was, that bear 
got me used to it before I was done with him ; for he 
got so at last, that he would leave me on a long chase 
quite easy. How he did it, I never could understaiid. 

" That a bear runs at all, is puzzling ; but how this 
one could tire down and bust up a pack of hounds 



THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 87 

and a horse, that were used to overhauling every thing 
they started after in no time, was past my understand- 
ing. Well, stranger, that bear finally got so sass}', 
that he used to help himself to a hog off my premises 
whenever he wanted one ; the buzzards followed after 
what he left, and so, between hQ,ar and buzzard^ I rather 
think I got out of pork. 

" Well, missing that b^ar so often took hold of my 
vitals, and I wasted away.' The thing had been carried 
too far, and it reduced me in flesh faster than an ager. 
I would see that bear in every thing I did : he hunted 
me, and that, too, like a devil, which I began to think 
he was. 

" While in this shaky fix, I made preparations to give 
him a last brush, and be done with it. Having com- 
pleted every thing to my satisfaction, I started at sun- 
rise, and to my great joy, I discovered from the way the 
dogs run, that they were near him. Finding his trail 
was nothing, for that had become as plain to the pack 
as a turnpike road. 

" On we went, and coming to an open country, what 
should I see but the bear very leisurely ascending a 
hill, and the dogs close at his heels, either a match for 
him this time in speed, or else he did not care to get 
out of their way — I don't know which. But wasn't he 
a beauty, though ! I loved him like a brother. 

" On he went, until he came to a tree, the limbs of 
which formed a crotch about six feet from the ground. 



88 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

Into this crotch he got and seated himself, the dogs 
yelling all around it ; and there he sat eyeing them as 
quiet as a pond in low water. 

" A greenhorn friend of mine, in company, reached 
shooting distance before me, and blazed away, hitting 
the critter in the centre of his forehead. The bear 
shook his head as the ball struck it, and then walked 
down from that tree, as gently as a lady would from a 
carriage. 

" 'Twas a beautiful sight to see him do that — he was 
in such a rage, that he seemed to be as little afraid of 
the dogs as if they had been sucking pigs ; and the dogs 
warn't slow in making a ring around him at a respectful 
distance, I tell you; even Bowieknife himself, stood 
off. Then the way his eyes flashed ! — why the fire of 
them would have singed a cat's hair ; in fact, that bear 
was in a wrath all over. Only one pup came near him, 
and he was brushed out so totally with the bear's left 
paw, that he entirely disappeared ; and that made the 
old dogs more cautious still. In the mean time, I came 
up, and taking deliberate aim, as a man should do, at his 
side, just back of his foreleg, if my gun did not snap^ 
call me a coward, and I won't take it personal. 

" Yes, stranger, it snajjped, and I could not find a 
cap about my person. While in this predicament, I 
turned round to my fool friend — ' Bill,' says I, ' you're 
an ass — ^you're a fool — you might as well have tried to 
kill that bear by barking the tree under his belly, as to 



THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 89 

have done it by hitting him in the head. Your shot 
has made a tiger of him ; and blast me, if a dog gets 
killed or wounded when they come to blows, I will stick 

my knife into your liver, I will .' My wrath was up. 

I had lost my caps, my gun had snapped, the fellow 
with me had fired at the bear's head, and I expected 
every moment to see him close in with the dogs and 
kill a dozen of them at least. In this, thing I was mis- 
taken ; for the bear leaped over the ring formed by the 
dogs, and giving a fierce growl, was off — the pack, of 
course, in full cry after him. The run this time was 
short, for coming to the edge of a lake, the varmint 
jumped in, and swam to a little island in the lake, which 
it reached, just a moment before the dogs. 

" ' I'll have him now,' said I, for I had found my 
caps in the lining of my coat — so, rolling a log into the 
lake, I paddled myself across to the island, just as the 
dogs had cornered the bear in a thicket. I rushed up 
and fired — at the same time the critter leaped over the 
dogs and came within three feet of me, running like 
mad ; he jumped into the lake, and tried to mount the 
log I had just deserted, but every time he got half his 
body on it, it would roll over and send him under ; the 
dogs, too, got around him, and pulled .him about, and 
finally Bowieknife clenched with him, and they sunk 
into the lake together. 

" Stranger, about this time I was excited, apd I 
stripped off my coat, drew my knife, and intended to 



90 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

have taken a part with Bowieknife myself, when the bear 
rose to the surface. But the varmint staid under — 
Bowieknife came up alone, more dead than alive, and 
with the pack came ashore. 

" ' Thank God ! ' said I, ' the old villain has got his 
deserts at last.' 

" Determined to have the body, I cut a grape-vine 
for a rope, and dove down where I could see the bear 
in the water, fastened my rope to his leg, and fished him, 
with great difficulty, ashore. Stranger, may I be 
chawed to death by young alligators, if the thing I 
looked at wasn't a she bear, and 'not the old critter 
after all. 

" The way matters got mixed on that island was on- 
accountably curious, and thinking of it made me more 
than ever convinced that I was hunting the devil him- 
self. I went home that night and took to my bed — 
the thing was killing me. The entire team of Arkan- 
saw in bear-hunting acknowledged himself used up, and 
the fact sunk into my feelings as a snagged boat will in 
the Mississippi. I grew as cross as a bear with two cubs 
and a sore tail. The thing got out 'mong my neigh- 
bors, and I was asked how come on that individ-u-al 
that never lost a bear when once started ? and if that 
same individual didn't wear telescopes when he turned 
a she-bear, of ordinary size, into an old he one, a little 
larger than a horse ? 

" ' Prehaps,' said I, ' friends' — getting wrathy — ' pre- 
haps you want to call somebody a liar ? ' 



THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. 91 

" ' Oh, no,' said they, ' we only heard of such things 
being rather common of late, but we don't believe one 
word of it ; oh, no,' — and then they would ride off, and 
laugh like so many hyenas over a dead nigger. 

It was too much, and I determined to catch that 
bear, go to Texas, or die, — and I made my preparations 
accordin'. 

" I had the pack shut up and rested. I took my 
rifle to pieces, and iled it. 

" I put caps in every pocket about my person, for 
fear of the lining. 

" I then told my neighbors, that on Monday morning 
— naming the day — I would start that b(e)ar, and 
bring him home with me, or they might divide my 
settlement among them, the owner having disappeared. 

" Well, stranger, on the morning previous to the great 
day of my hunting expedition, I w' ent into the woods 
near my house, taking my gun and Bowieknife along, 
just from habit^ and there sitting down, also from 
habit, what should I see, getting over my fence, but the 
bQar ! Yes, the old varmint was within a hundred yards 
of me, and the way he walked over that fence — stranger ; 
he loomed up like a black mist, he seemed so large, and 
he walked right towards me. 

" I raised myself, took deliberate aim, and fifed. 
Instantly the varmint wheeled, gave a yell, and walked 
through the fence, as easy as a failing tree would 
through a cobweb. 



92 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

" I started after, but was tripped up by my inex- 
pressibles, which, either from habit or the excitement of 
the moment, were about my heels, and before I had 
really gathered myself up, I heard the old varmint 
groaning, like a thousand sinners, in a thicket near by, 
and, by the time I reached him, he was a corpse. 

" Stranger, it took five niggers and myself to put that 
carcass on a mule's back, and old long-ears waddled 
under his load, as if he was foundered in every leg of 
his body; and with a common whopper of a bear, he 
would have trotted off, and enjoyed himself. 

" 'Twould astonish you to know how big he was : 
I made a bedspread of Ids skiii^ and the way it used 
to cover my b(?ar mattress, and leave several feet on each 
side to tuck up, would have delighted you. It was, in 
fact, a creation bear, and if it had lived in Samson's 
time, and had met him in a fair fight, he would have 
licked him in the twinkling of a dice-box. 

" But, stranger, I never liked the way I hunted him, 
and tnissed Idm. There is something curious about it, 
that I never could understand, — and I never was satis- 
fied at his giving in so easy at last. Prehaps he had 
heard of my preparations to hunt him the next day, so 
be jist guv up, like Captain Scott's coon, to save his 
wind to grunt with in dying ; but that ain't likely. My 
private opinion is, that that bear was an unhuntable bear^ 
and died when his time come.'''' 

When this story was ended, our hero sat some min- 



THE BIG BEAR OF ARKANSAS. V»o 

ntes with his auditors, in a grave silence ; I saw there 
was a mystery to him connected with the hear whose 
death he had just related, that had evidently made a 
strong impression on his mind. It was also evident 
that there was some superstitious awe connected with 
the affair, — a feeling common with all " children of the 
wood," when they meet with any thing out of their 
every-day experience. 

He was the first one, however, to break the silence, 
and, jumping up, he asked all present to " liquor " before 
going to bed, — a thing which he did, with a number of 
companions, evidently to his heart's content. 

Long before day, I was put ashore at my place of 
destination, and I can only follow with the reader, in 
imagination, our Arkansas friend, in his adventures at 
the " Forks of Cypress," on the Mississippi. 



THE MISSISSIPPI. 

" I have been 
Where the wild will of Mississippi's tide 
Has dashed me on the sawyer." — Bkaineed. 

The North American continent — in its impenetrable 
forests — its fertile prairies — its magnificent lakes — its 
variety of rivers with their falls — is the richest portion 
of our globe. Many of these wonderful exhibitions of 
nature are already shrines, where pilgrims from every 
land assemble to admire and marvel at the surpassing 
wonders of a new world. So numerous indeed are the 
objects presented, so novel and striking is their charac- 
ter, that the judgment is confused in endeavoring to de- 
cide which single one is worthy of the greatest admira- 
tion ; and the forests — the prairies — the lakes — the 
rivers — and falls — each in turn dispute the supremacy. 

But to us, the Mississippi ranks first in importance ; 
and thus we think must it strike all, when they consider 
the luxurious fertility of the valley through which it 



THE MISSISSIPPI. 95 

flowSj its vast extent, and the charm of mystery that 
rests upon its waters. 

The Niagara Falls, with its fearful depths, its rocky 
heights, its thunder, and " bows of promise," addresses 
itself to the ear, and the eye ; and through these alone 
impresses the beholder with the greatness of its charac- 
ter. The Mississippi, on the contrary, although it may 
have few or no tangible demonstrations of power, al- 
though it has no language with which it can startle the 
senses, yet in a " still small voice " addresses the mind 
with its terrible lessons of strength and sublimity, more 
forcibly than any other object in nature. 

The name Mississippi, was derived from the abori- 
gines of the country, and has been poetically rendered 
the " Father of Waters." There is little truth in this 
translation, and it gives no idea, or scarcely none, of the 
river itself. The literal meaning of the Indian com- 
pound, Mississippi, as is the case with all Indian names 
in this country, would have been much better, and every 
way more characteristic. From the most numerous In 
dian tribe in the southwest we derive the name ; and it 
would seem that the same people who gave the name to 
the Mississippi, at different times possessed nearly half 
the continent ; judging from the fact that the Ohio in 
the north, and many of the most southern points of the 
peninsula of Florida, are named from the Choctaw lan- 
guage. 

With that tribe the two simple adjectives, Missah 



96 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

and Sippah, are used when describing the most familiar 
things ; but these two words, though they are employed 
thus familiarly, when separated — compounded, ^rm the 
most characteristic name we can get of this wonderful 
river. Missah, literally Old big, Sippah, strong, Old- 
big-strong ; and this name is eminently appropriate to 
the Mississippi. 

The country through which this river flows, is almost 
entirely alluvial. Not a stone is to be seen, save about 
its head-waters ; and the dark rich earth " looks eager 
for the hand of cultivation;" for vegetation lies piled 
upon its surface with a luxuriant wastefulness that beg- 
gars all description, and finds no comparison for its ex- 
tent, except in the mighty river from which it receives 
its support. This alluvial soil forms but frail banks 
wherewith to confine the swift current of the Mississippi ; 
and, as might be imagined, these are continually altering 
their shape and location. 

The channel is capricious and wayward in its course. 
The needle of the compass turns round and round upon 
its axis, as it marks the bearings of your craft, and in a 
few hours will frequently point due north, west, east, 
and south, delineating those tremendous bends in the 
stream which nature seems to have formed to check the 
headlong current, and keep it from rushing too madly 
to the ocean. 

But the stream does not always tamely circumscribe 
these bends : gathering strength from resistance, it will 



THE MISSISSIPPI. 97 

form new and more direct channels ; and tlins it is, that 
large tracts of country once upon the river, become in- 
land, or are entirely swept away by the current ; and so 
frequently does this happen, that " cut-offs " are almost 
as familiar to the eye on the Mississippi, as its muddy 
waters. 

When the Mississippi, in making its " cut-offs," is 
ploughing its way through the virgin soil, there float 
upon the top of this destroying tide, thousands of trees, 
which but lately covered the land, and lined its caving 
banks. These gigantic wrecks of the primitive forests 
are tossed about by the invisible power of the current, 
as if they were straws ; and they find no rest, until with 
associated thousands they are thrown upon some pro- 
jecting point of land, where they lie rotting for miles, 
their dark forms frequently shooting into the air like 
writhing serpents, presenting one of the most desolate 
pictures of which the mind can conceive. These masses 
of timber are called "rafts." 

Other trees become attached to the bottomof the river, 
and yet by some elasticity of the roots are loose enough 
to be affected by the strange and powerful current, which 
will bear them down under the surface ; and the trees, 
by their own strength, will come gracefully up again to 
be again ingulfed ; and thus they continuously wave up- 
ward and downward, with a gracefulness of motion which 
would not disgrace a beau of the old school. Boats 
frequently pass over these " sawyers," as they go down 



98 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

stream, pressing them under by their weight ; but let 
some unfortunate child of the genius of Robert Fulton, 
as it passes up stream, be saluted by the visage of one 
of these polite gentry, as it rises ten or more feet in 
the air, and nothing short of irreparable damage, or 
swift destruction ensues ; while the cause of all this dis- 
aster, after the concussion, will rise above the ruin as if 
nothing had happened, shake the dripping water from 
its forked limbs, and sink and rise again, rejoicing in its 
strength. 

Other trees become firmly fastened in the bed of the 
river ; and their long trunks, shorn of their limbs, pre- 
sent the most formidable objects of navigation. A rock 
itself, sharpened and set by art, could be no more dan- 
gerous than these dread " snags." Let the bows of the 
strongest vessel come in contact with them, and the con- 
cussion will crush its timbers as if they were paper ; and 
the noble craft will tremble for a moment like a thing 
of life, when suddenly stricken to its vitals, and then 
sink into its grave. 

Such are the " cut-offs," " rafts," " sawyers," and 
" snags," of the Mississippi ; terms significant to the 
minds of the western boatman and hunter, of qualities 
which they apply to themselves, and to their heroes, 
whenever they wish to express themselves strongly ; and 
we presume that the beau-ideal of a political character 
with them, would be, one who would come at the truth 
by a " cut-off " — separate and pile up falsehood for de- 



THE MISSISSIPPI. 99 

cay like the trees of a " raft : " and do all this with the 
politeness of a " sawyer" — and with principles unyield- 
ing as a " snag." 

The forests that line the banks of the Mississippi, 
and supply, without any apparent decrease, the vast 
masses of timber that in such varied combinations 
every where meet the eye, are themselves worthy of the 
river which they adorn. 

Go into the primitive forests at noonday, and how- 
ever fiercely the sun may shine, you will find 3^ourself 
enveloped in gloom. Gigantic trees obstruct your path- 
way, and as you cast your eyes upward, your head grows 
dizzy with their height. Here, too, are to be seen dead 
trunks, shorn of their limbs, and whitening in the blasts, 
that are as mighty in their size as the pillars of Hercu- 
les. Grape-vines larger than your body will, for some 
distance, creep along the ground, and then suddenly 
spring a hundred feet into the air, grasp some patriarch 
of the forest in its folds, crush, mutilate, and destroy it ; 
and then, as if to make amends for the injury, throw over 
its deadening work the brightest green, the richest fo- 
liage, filled with fragrance, and the clustering grape. 
On the top of these aspiring trees, the squirrel is beyond 
the gunshot reach of the hunter. 

Upon the ground are long piles of crumbling mould, 
distinguished from the earth around them by their nu- 
merous and variegated flowers. These immense piles, 
higher in places than your head, are but the remains of 



100 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

single trees, that a century ago startled the silence now 
so profound, and with their headlong crash sent through 
the green arch above sounds that for a moment silenced 
the echoing thunder that loaded the hurricane that pros 
trated them. 

Here were to be seen the ruins of a new continent — 
here were mouldering the antiquities of America — how un- 
like those of the Old World. Omnipotence, not man, had 
created these wonderful monuments of greatness, with no 
other tears than the silent rain, no other slavery than 
the beautiful laws that govern nature in ordering the 
seasons — and yet these monuments, created in inno- 
cency, and at the expense of so much time, were wasting 
into nothingness. God above in his power could erect 
them. They were breathed upon in anger and turned to 
dust. 

The vast extent of the Mississippi is almost beyond 
belief. The stream which may bear you gently along in 
midwinter, so far south that the sun is oppressive, finds 
its beginnings in a country of eternal snows. Follow it 
in your imagination thousands of miles, as you pass on 
from its head waters to its mouth, and you find it flow- 
ing through almost every climate under heaven : nay 
more — the comparatively small stream on which you 
look, receives within itself the waters of four rivers 
alone ; Arkansas, Ked, Ohio, and Missouri ; whose 
united lengthy without including their tributaries, is 
over eight thousand miles. Yet, this mighty flood is 



THE MISSISSIPPI. 101 

swallowed up by the Mississippi, as if it possessed 
within itself the very capacity of the ocean, and dis- 
dained in its comprehensive limits, to acknowledge the 
accession of strength. 

The color of this tremendous flood of water is always 
turbid. There seems no rest for it, that will enable it 
to become quiet or clear. In all seasons the same 
muddy water meets the eye ; and this strange pecu- 
liarity suggests to the mind that the banks of the river 
itself are composed of this dark sediment which has in 
the course of centuries confined the onward flood within 
its present channel, and in this order of nature we find 
one of the most original features of the river; for on 
the Mississippi we have no land sloping in gentle de- 
clivities to the water's edge, but a bank just high 
enough, where it is washed by the river, to protect the 
back country from inundation, in the ordinary rises of 
the stream; for whenever, from an extensive flood, it 
rises above the top of this feeble barrier, the water runs 
down into the country. 

This singular fact shows how all the land on the 
Mississippi south of the thirty-fourth degree of latitude, 
is liable to inundation, since nearly all the inhabitants 
on the shores of the river, find its level, in ordinarily 
high water, running above the land on which they re- 
side. To prevent this easy, and apparently natural in- 
undation, there seems to be a power constantly exerted 
to hold the flood in ckeck, and bid it " go so far and no 



102 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

farther;" and but for this interposition of Divine power, 
here so signally displayed, the fair fields of the South 
would become mere sand-bars upon the shores of the 
Atlantic, and the country which might now support the 
world by its luxurious vegetation, would only bear the 
angry ocean wave. 

Suppose, for an instant, that a universal spring 
should beam upon our favored continent, and that the 
thousands of streams which are tributary to the Missis- 
sippi were to become at once unloosed : the mighty flood 
in its rushing course would destroy the heart of the 
northwestern continent. 

But mark the goodness and wisdom of Providence ! 
Early in the spring, the waters of the Ohio rise with its 
tributaries, and the Mississippi bears them off without 
injuriously overflowing its banks. When summer sets in, 
its own head-waters about the lakes, and the swift Mis- 
souri, with its melting ice from the Rocky Mountains, 
come down ; and thus each, in order, makes the Missis- 
sippi its outlet to the Gulf of Mexico. But were all 
these streams permitted to come together in their 
strength, what, again we ask, would save the Eden gar- 
dens of the South ? 

In contemplations like these, carried out to their 
fullest extent, we may arrive at the character of this 
mighty river. It is in the thoughts it suggests^ and not 
in the breadth or length visible at any given point to J 

the eye. Depending on the senses alone, we should 4| 



THE MISSISSIPPI. 103 

never be confounded by astonis^iment, or excited by ad- 
miration. You may float upon its bosom, and be lost 
amid its world of waters, and yet see nothing of its vast- 
ness ; for the river has no striking beauty ; its waves 
run scarce as high as a child can reach ; upon its banks 
we find no towering precipices, no cloud-capped moun- 
tains — all, all is dull, — a dreary waste. 

Let us float however, day after day, upon its appa- 
rently sluggish surface, and by comparison once begin 
to comprehend its magnitude, and the mind becomes 
overwhelmed with fearful admiration. There seems to 
rise up from its muddy waters a spirit robed in mystery, 
that points back for its beginning to the deluge, and 
whispers audibly, " I roll on, and on, and on, altering^ 
but not altered^ while time exists ! " 

Here, too, we behold a power terrible in its loneli- 
ness ; for on the Mississippi a sameness meets your eye 
every where, with scarce a single change of scene. 

A river incomprehensible, illimitable, and mysterious, 
flows ever onward, tossing to and fro under its depths, 
in its own channel, as if fretting in its ordered limits ; 
swallowing its banks here, and disgorging them else- 
T7here, so suddenly that the attentive pilot, as he repeats 
his frequent route, feels that he knows not where he is, 
and often hesitates fearfully along in the mighty flood, 
guided only by the certain lead ; and again and again is 
he startled by the ominous cry, " Less fathom deep ! " 



104 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

where but yesterday the lead would have in vain gone 
down for soundings. 

Such is the great Aorta of the continent of North 
America ; alone and unequalled in its majesty, it pro- 
claims in its course the wisdom and power of G-od, who 
only can measure its depths, and " turn them about as 
a very little thing." 



m 



LAEGE AND SMALL STEAMEES OF THE 
MISSISSIPPL 

The steamboats of the Mississippi are as remarkable for 
size and form as the river itself. Gigantic specimens 
of art that go bellowing over the swift and muddy cur- 
rent, like restless monsters, breathing out the whisper- 
ings of the hurricane, clanking and groaning as if an 
earthquake was preparing to convulse the world, ob- 
scuring in clouds of smoke the sun in the daytime, or 
rolling over the darkness of night a flame as if the vol- 
cano had burst from the bosom of the deep. 

Who, without wondering, sees them for the first time, 
as they rush along, filled with an ever-busy throng of 
travellers, and loaded with the boundless wealth, that 
teems from the rich soil, as the reward of the labor of 
the American husbandman ! 

The Mississippi is also very remarkable for little 

steamboats, small specimens of water-craft, that are 

5* 



106 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

famous lor their ambitious puffings, noisy captains, and 
gigantic placards — boats that run up little streams that 
empty into the Mississippi — boats that go beyond places 
never dreamed of in geography — never visited by travel- 
lers, or even marked down in the scrutinizing book of 
the tax collector. 

The first time one finds himself in one of these 
boats, he looks about him as did Gulliver when he got 
in Lilliput. It seems as if you are larger and more 
magnificent than an animated colossus — you find, on 
going on the boat, that your feet are on the lower deck 
and your head up-stairs ; the after-cabin is so disposed 
of that you can sit inside of it, and yet be near the 
bows. The ladies' cabin has but one berth in it, and 
that only as wide as a shelf. 

The machinery is tremendous ; two large kettles 
firmly set in brick, attached to a complicated-looking 
coffee mill, two little steampipes and one big one. 

And then the way that the big steam-pipe will smoke, 
and the little ones let off steam, is singular. Then the 
puffing of the little coffee-mill ! why it works as spite- 
fully as a tom-cat with his tail caught in the crack of a 
door. 

Then the engineer, to see him open " the furnace " 
doors, and pitch in wood, and open the little stop-cocks 
to see if the steam is not too high, all so much like a big 
steamer. Then the name of the craft, " the u. s. mail, 
EMPEROR," the letters covering over the whole side of 



STEAMERS ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 107 

the boat, so that it looks like a locomotive advertise- 
riient. 

Then the " u. s. mail " deposited in one corner of the 
cabin, and two rifles standing near, as if to guard it ; 
said mail being in a bag that looks like a gigantic shot- 
pouch, fastened to a padlock, and said pouch filled with 
three political speeches, franked by M. C.'s, one letter, 
to a man who did not live at the place of its destination, 
and a small bundle of post-office documents put in by 
mistake. 

The bell that rang for the boat's departure, was a 
tremendous bell ; it swung to and fro awfully ; it was 
big enough for a cathedral, and as it rung for the twen- 
tieth, ' last time,' one passenger came on board weighing 
about three hundred, and the boat got under way. 

" Let go that hawser," shouted the captain in a 
voice of thunder. Pe, wee, wee, pish, went the little 
steampipe,'and we were off. Our track lay for a time 
down the Mississippi, and we went ahead furiously, 
overhauled two rafts and a flat-boat within two hours, 
and presented the appearance of a real big steamer most 
valiantly, by nearly shaking to pieces in its waves. 
The two light passengers got along very well, but when- 
ever the fat passenger got off a line with the centre of 
the cabin, the pilot would give the bell one tap, and the 
captain would bawl out, " Trim the boat." 

Captain Eaft, of the U. S. Mail steamer Emperor, 
it may not be uninteresting to know, was one of those 



108 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

eccentric men that had a singular ambition to run a 
boat where no one else could — he was fond of being "a 
great discoverer on a small scale. In one of his eccen- 
tric humors, Captain Raft run the Emperor up Red 
River, as the pilot observed, about " a feet," which in 
the southwest, means several hundred miles. 

Among the passengers upon that occasion was old 
Zeb Marston, a regular out-and-outer frontiersman, who 
seemed to spend his whole life in settling out of the way 
places, and locating his family in sickly situations. Zeb 
was the first man that " blazed " a tree in Eagle Town, 
on the Mountain Fork, and he was the first man that ever 
choked an alligator to death with his hands, on the Big 
Cossitot. He knew every snag, sawyer, nook and corner 
of the Sabine, the Upper Red River, and their tributa- 
ries, and when "bar whar scace," he was wont to declare 
war on the Cumanchos, and, for excitement, " used them 
up terribly." 

But to our story — Zeb moved on Red River, settled 
in a low, swampy, terrible place, and he took it as a 
great honor that the Emperor passed his cabin ; and, at 
every trip the boat made, there was tumbled out at Zeb's 
yard a barrel of new whiskey, (as regularly as she passed,) 
for which was paid the full value in cord wood. 

Now, Captain Raft was a kind man, and felt disposed 
to oblige every resident that lived on his route of travel ; 
but' it was unprofitable to get every week to Zeb's out- 
of-the-way place, and as he landed the fifteenth barrel, 



STEAMERS ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 109 

he expressed his surprise at the amount of whiskey con- 
sumed at his " settlement," and hinted it was rather an 
unprofitable business for the boat. Zeb, at this piece 
of information, " flared up," raised his mane, shut his 
" maulers," and told Captain Eaft he could whip him, — 
the pilot, and deck hands, and if they would give him 
the advantage of the " under grip," he would let the pis- 
ton-rod of the engine punch him in the side all the time 
the fight was going on. 

Raft, at this display of fury from Zeb, cooled down 
immediately, acknowledged himself " snagged," begged 
Zeb's pardon, and adjourned to the bar for a drink. 
One glass followed another, until the heroes got into 
the mellow mood, and Zeb, on such occasions, always 
" went it strong " for his family. After praising their 
beauty individually and collectively, he broke into the 
pathetic, and set the Captain crying, by the followmg 
heart-rending appeal : — 

"Raft, Raft, my dear fellow, you talk about the 
trouble of putting out a barrel of whiskey every week 
at my diggins, when I have got a sick wife, and five small 
children, and no cow I — whar's your heart ? " 

Dinner in due course of time was announced — the 
table was covered with the largest roast beef, the largest 
potatoes, and the largest carving-knife and fork that 
ever floated, and the steward rang the largest bell for 
dinner, and longer than any other steward would have 
done, and the captain talked about the immense extent 



ilO THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

of the Mississippi, the contemplated canal through the 
Isthmus of Darien, and the ability of the steam war- 
ships ; he said, that in the contemplation of the subject, 
" his feelings war propelled by five hundred horse- 
power — that the bows of his imagination cut through 
the muddy waters of reality — that the practicabilit}^ of 
his notions was as certain as a rudder in giving the pro- 
per direction — that his judgment, like a safety-valve to 
his mind, would always keep him from advocating any 
thing that would burst up, and that it was unfortunate 
that Robert Fulton had not lived to be President of the 
United States." 

With such enlarged ideas he wiled away the hours 
of dinner ; — arriving at the mouth of " Dry Outlet " (a 
little ditch that draws off some of the waters of the 
Mississippi when very high), the pilot turned the bows 
of the " Emperor " into its mouth, and shot down, 
along with an empty flour barrel, with an alacrity that 
sent the bows of the boat high and dry on land, the first 
bend it came to. 

A great deal of hard work got it off, and away the 
steamer went again, at one time sideways, at another 
every way, hitting against the soft alluvial banks, or 
brushing the pipes among the branches of overhanging 
trees. Finally the current got too strong, and carried 
it along with alarming velocity. The bows of the boat 
were turned up stream, and thus managed to keep an 
onward progress compatible with safety. 



STEAMERS ON THE MISSISSIPPI. I 1 I 

The banks of the " dry outlet " were very low and very 
swampy, and were disfigured occasionally by wretched 
cabins, in which lived human beings, who, the captain 
of the " Emperor " informed us, lived, as far as he could 
judge, by sitting upon the head of a barrel and looking 
out on the landscape, and at his boat as it passed. From 
the fact that they had no arable land, and looked like 
creatures fed on unhealthy air, we presume that was 
their only occupation. 

In time we arrived at the " small village," the des- 
tination of the ''mail pouch;" " the passengers" landed 
and visited the town. It was one of the ruins of a 
great city, dreamed of by land speculators in " glorious 
times." Several splendidly-conceived mansions were 
decaying about in the half-finished frames that were 
strewn upon the ground. A barrel of whiskey was 
rolled ashore, the mail delivered, the fat man got out, 
and the steamer was again under way. 

The " dry outlet " immerged into a broad inland 
lake, which itself, with a peculiarity of the tributaries 
of the Mississippi, emptied into that river. Our little 
boat plunged on, keeping up with untiring consistency 
all its original pretensions and pufiing, and the same 
clanking of tiny machinery, scaring the wild ducks and 
geese, scattering the white cranes over our heads, and 
making the cormorant screech with astonishment in 
hoarser tones than the engine itself. 

Occasionally we would land at a " squatter's settle- 



112 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

ment," turn round and come up to the banks with 
grandeur, astonishing the squatter's children, and the 
invalid hens that lived in the front yard. The captain 
would pay up the bill for the wood, and off he would go 
again as " big as all out doors," and a great deal more 
natural. Thus we struggled on, until, sailing up a stream 
with incessant labor, such as we went down when we 
commenced our sketch, we emerged into the world of 
water that flows in the Mississippi. Down the rapid 
current we gracefully swept, very much to the astonish- 
ment of the permanent inhabitants on its banks. 

Again for the " innumierable time," the " furnaces " 
consumed the wood, and as it had to be replenished, we 
ran alongside one of those immense wood-yards, so pecu- 
liar to the Mississippi, where lay, in one continuous pile, 
thousands of cords of wood. The captain of the " Em- 
peror," as he stopped his boat before it, hollowed out 
from his upper deck, in a voice of the loudest tone — 
" Got any wood here ? " 

Now the owner of the wood-yard, who was a very 
rich man, and a very surly one, looked on the "pile," and 
said " he thought it possible.'''' 

" Then," said the captain, " how do you sell it a 
cord ? " 

The woodman eyed the boat and its crew; and eyed 
the passengers, and then said, " he would not sell the 
boat any wood, but the crew might come ashore and 
get their hats full of chips for nothing.'''' 



STEAMERS ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 113 

Hereupon the five hundred horse power ii the cap- 
tain's feelings, and the rudder and the safety- ralves of his 
well-regulated mind, became surcharged with wrath, and 
he vented out abuse on the wood-yard and its owner, 
which was expressed in " thoughts that breathe and 
words that burn." 

A distant large boat, breasting the current like a 
thing of life, at this moment coming in sight, gave us 
a hint, and rushing ashore amid the " wrath," we bid 
the " Emperor " and its enraged captain a hearty good- 
bye, and in a few moments more we dwindled into insig- 
nificance on board of the magnificent , the pride 

and wonder of the Western waters. 



FAMILIAR SCENES ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 

As our magnificent Union lias increased in popula- 
tion, the aborigines within the " older States " have be- 
come constantly more and more degraded. " The Gov- 
ernment," as the most merciful policy, has taxed its 
energies to remove these red men from the vicinity of 
civilization, to homes still wild and primitive, west of 
the Mississippi. There, a vast extent of country is still 
unoccupied, in which he can pursue, comparatively unre- 
strained, his inclinations, and pluck a few more days of 
happiness before his sun entirely sets. 

Occasionally may be seen in the southwest, a large 
body of these people, under the charge of a " govern- 
ment officer," going to the new homes provided for them 
by their " white father." These " removals " are always 
melancholy exhibitions. The Indians, dispirited and 
heart-broken, entirely hopeless of the future, with dog- 



FAMILIAR SCENES ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 115 

ged looks submit to every privation that is imposed on 
them, and appear equally indiiferent as to the receipt of 
favors. Throwing aside every mark of etiquette among 
themselves, the chief, who, when among their native 
haunts, is almost a sacred person, lies down or takes 
his food, promiscuously with the noblest or most de- 
graded of his people ; all distinctions of age as well as 
caste, are thrown aside, and the Indians seem a mere 
mass of degraded humanity, with less apparent capa- 
bility of self-preservation than the brute. 

Some two or three years ago, we took passage on 
board a boat bound from New Orleans to St. Louis, 
which boat the government had engaged to carry as far 
towards their place of destination as practicable, near 
four hundred Seminoles, who, with their chiefs, had 
agreed to emigrate west of the Mississippi. 

We were not particularly pleased with our numerous 
and novel passengers, but the lateness of the season les- 
sened the chances of getting a conveyance, and as most of 
the Indians were to remain in a tender, lashed to the side 
of the steamer, we concluded that a study of their man- 
ners and habits would beguile away the time of a long 
trip, and thus pay us for the inconveniences we might 
be put to. Unfortunately, the novelty of our situation 
too soon passed away. 

The Indians, who on first acquaintance kept up a lit- 
tle display of their original character, gradually relapsed 
into what appeared to be a mere vegetable existence, 



116 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

and slept through the entire twenty-four hours of the 
d"ay. Of all the remarkable traits of character that dig- 
nify them in history, we could not discern the least 
trace ; yet among the brutal, insensible savages at our 
feet, were many daring spirits, who had displayed in 
their warfare with the whites, dangerous talents, and 
taken many a bloody scalp. The girls were possessed 
of little or no personal charms, while the women, the la- 
borers of the tribe, were as hideous as any hags that can 
be imagined. 

The heat of the weather and the confinement of the 
boat, had a dreadful effect upon these poor wretches ; 
sickness rapidly broke out among them, and as they 
stoutly refused to take the white man's medicine, their 
chances of recovery were poor indeed. 

The tender was turned into a perfect lazar-house, 
and nothing could be seen but the affecting attentions 
of the old squaws to their friends and relatives, as they 
wasted away before their eyes. The infant and patri- 
arch were side by side, consuming with slow fever, while 
the corpse of some middle-aged person lay at their feet, 
waiting for the funeral rites and the obscurity of the 
grave. Yain were the prescriptions of the " medicine 
man " of their tribe ; he blew his breath through a gaudy 
colored reed upon the faces of his patients, and recited 
his incantations, but without success. He disfigured his 
person with new paint, and altered his devices daily, still 
his patients would die, and at every landing where the 



FAMILIAR SCENES ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 117 

boat stopped, some poor Indian was taken ashore and 
hastily buried. 

No one mourned over the corpse but the females, 
and they only when intimately related to the deceased. 
The father, son, or husband, as they saw their relatives 
falling around them, scarce turned their eyes upon the 
dead, and if they did, it was only to exclaim in guttural 
'accents, " Ugh ! " and then turn away to sleep. 

Not an article belonging to the dead but was wrap- 
ped up with it, or placed in the coffin ; the infant and 
its playthings, the young girl and her presents, the 
squaw with her domestic utensils, and the " brave " with 
his gun and whatever property there was in his pos- 
session. A beautiful custom, indeed — and one that 
brings no crocodile tears to the eyes of the living heir, 
and gives the lawyer no chance for litigation. 

Among those who died, was one old veteran warrior 
who had particularly attracted our attention by his 
severe looks and loneliness of habit, and we watched 
attentively his. exit from the world. He seemed, as 
near as we could judge, to have no relatives about him ; 
no one noticed him but the doctor, who was markedly 
attentive. The old man was a chief, and the scars that 
covered his body told of many a dreadful encounter with 
man and beast. His huge skeleton, as he moved about 
in his ill-concealed agony, looked like the remains of a 
giant, exaggerated by its want of flesh. His hands 
were small, and of feminine delicacy — occasionally he 



118 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

would move them about in mute eloquence, then clutch 
at the air, as if in pursuit of an enemy, and fall hack 
exhausted. 

Recovering from one of these fits, he tried to stand, 
but found it impossible ; he, however, raised himself 
upon his elbow, and opening his eyes for the first time 
in a long while, stared wildly about him. The sun, which' 
was at this time low in the west, shone full upon him — * 
his smooth skin glistened like burnished copper — his 
long-neglected hair, of silvery whiteness, hung over his 
head and face, while the scalp-lock displayed itself by its 
immense length, as it reached his shoulder. His muscles, 
shrunken by age and disease, moved like cords in per- 
forming their offices. 

A smile lit up his features — his lips moved — and he 
essayed to speak. A faint chant was heard — the doctor, 
at the sound, bent his head, and assumed an air of rev- 
erence. The chant, as it continued to swell on the even- 
ing breeze, reached the ears of the slumbering warriors 
that lay about, and as they listened to the sounds, I 
could discern their sottish eyes open and flash with un- 
earthly fires ; sometimes exhibiting pleasure, but oftener 
ferocity and hatred. The old man sang on, a few raised 
to their feet, and waved their hands in the air, as if keep- 
ing time, and occasionally some aged Indian would re- 
peat the sounds he heard. The old man ceased, turned 
his face full to the setting sun, and fell back a corpse. 
The Indians cast a look in the direction of their 



FAMILIAR SCENES ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 119 

homes, gave an expression of malignity, as well as sor- 
row, and then silently and sluggishly sank into repose, 
as if nothing unusual had occurred. 

" That old fellow brags well of his infernal deeds," 
observed one of the white men accompanying the In- 
dians, " and the red-skinned devils about here drink it 
in as a Cuba hound would blood." 

The intense heat of the weather, and the quietness 
that reigned so profoundly among the Indians, broken 
only by the saw and hammer of the carpenter making 
coffins at the capstan, made us sigh for a landing-place, 
and a separation from such melancholy scenes. This 
desire was encouraged from the well-known fact, that 
the savages grew every hour more troublesome, and the 
song of the dying old chief had neither allayed their 
feelings, nor made them more contented. 



The morning following the death of the old chief 
had been preceded by one of those nights in which the 
fog rose from the water so thick, that, in the hyperboli- 
cal language of the boatman, you could make feather- 
beds of it. The pilot had " felt his way along " for 
many hours, until the sudden crash that shook every 
thing in the boat, convinced us that we were aground. 
The engine stopped, and left us in perfect silence and 
obscurity. 

Lono; after our accustomed hour of rising, we went 



120 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

on deck. The fresh mist blew in our faces with sicken- 
ing effect, and the sun — then two hours high — was invis- 
ible. The shore, which was so near that the breaking of 
twigs could be heard, as cattle, or game moved about on 
it, was indiscernible. Even the end of the boat opposite 
to the one on which we stood was invisible. A deep, 
damp, opaque Mississippi river fog, had swallowed us 
up. 

As the sun continued to rise and gain strength in 
its ascent, its rays penetrated through the gloom, and 
we at last discovered it, working its way through the 
fog by its rays, reaching them out as a debilitated spider 
would his legs, and apparently with the same caution 
and labor. 

With the growing heat a gentle breeze sprang up, 
and the fog rolled about in huge masses, leaving spots 
of pure atmosphere, and then closing them up ; gradu- 
ally the air became more and more rarej&ed, and things 
at a distance began to appear all magnified and myste- 
rious. 

On came the sun, brightening and enlarging, until 
his streaming rays dipped into the water, and shot up to 
the zenith. 

The fog, no longer able to keep its consistency, re- 
tired before its splendor in little clouds, which would 
sometimes rally, and spread over the surface of the 
river, then, breaking asunder, vanish away into air, with 
a splendor that rivalled the dying dolphin's tints. 



FAMILIAR SCENES ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 121 

Now, for the first time, could we learn our where- 
abouts. The broad bosom of the Mississippi stretched 
far to the front of us, while at the stern of our boat was 
one of those abrupt banks that denote a sudden bend in 
the river. This had deceived the pilot. On our right, 
within a few hundred yards, lay the shore, lined with 
huge trees, tangled with gigantic vines, and waving with 
festoons of moss, giving them a sombre appearance, that 
was singular and repulsive. Wild ducks and geese 
went screaming by, heron and crane innumerable would 
come near us, but discovering the dark form of our boat, 
fly precipitately away. 

The water glistened in the sun, and there would rise 
from its quiet surface little columns of mist, that would 
ascend high in the air, or sail along on the surface of 
the water, until striking the distant shore, they rolled 
over the landscape, enveloping parts in momentary ob- 
scurity, — and it was not until near noon that the fog 
entirely disappeared. Then the sun, as if incensed with 
the veil that had for a time kept it from its scorching 
work, poured down its heat with more intensity, leaving 
a foggy day, hotter before its close, than if the sun had 
been unobscured in its appearance in the morn. 

While sitting in the cabin, congratulating ourselves 

on the prospect of getting off the sand-bar, on which we 

had so long been detained, the report of a rifle was heard, 

fired from the deck, accompanied by a yelL 

Another rifle was discharged, and a loud Indian 
6 



122 THE HIVE OF IHE BEE-HUNTER. 

whoop followed, that made our blood run cold. The la- 
dies present turned pale, and the commanding officer 
who had charge of the Indians, somewhat astonished, left 
the cabin. 

A momentary alarm seized upon us all. Could the 
old warrior's death-song have incited mutiny ! — Crack ! 
went another rifle outside, — and another shout ; — we 
could stand it no longer, but rushed on deck. 

What a scene ! Not an Indian that was able, but 
was upon his feet, his eyes sparkling with fire, and his 
form looking as active as a panther's. The sluggards 
of yesterday were sleek and nervous as horses at the 
starting post, so perfectly had a little excitement altered 
them. Their rifles, however, thank Heaven, were not 
turned upon the white man — their enemy was between 
the boat and the shore — in the water — in the form of a 
very large black bear. 

It was a beautiful sight to see the savage springing 
with a graceful bound, on some high place in the boat ; 
and raise his rifle to his eye, ; — before the report was 
heard you could mark a red furrow on the head of the 
bear, where it was struck by the ball as it passed its 
way through the skin and flesh without entering the 
bone, while the bear, at these assaults, would throw him- 
self half out of the water, brush over the smarting 
wound with his huge paw, and then dash on for life. 
Another shot, and another yell brought the bear on the 
defensive, and showed, that he was dangerously wounded. 



FAMILIAR SCENES ON THE MISSISIPPI. 123 

While this firing was going on, some Indians, armed 
only with knives, launched a canoe that lay among their 
movables, and paddled hurriedly out to the bear. No 
sooner was the canoe within the bear's reach than he put 
his huge paws on its side, and in spite of the thrusts aimed 
at his head, turned his enemies with a somerset into the 
water. Loud shouts of laughter greeted this accident ; 
the little " papooses " and women fairly danced with joy, 
while the crew yelled and shouted at the sport, as much 
as the savages themselves. 

The bear turned from the boat and looked for his 
victims, but. they were not to be seen ; precipitated so 
suddenly into the water, they sank below the surface 
like the duck when much alarmed, and then thrust out 
their shining polls far from the friendly hug of the 
bear. 

Laying their plans of attack at once (for the firing 
of rifles was suspended), one of the Indians attracted 
the bear's attention, and made towards him ; they met, 
the floating canoe only between them, and while thus skir- 
mishing, an unoccupied Indian came up behind the bear, 
raised his knife, and drove it deeply into his side, and 
then disappeared beneath the surface. The bear turned 
in the direction of this new attack, snapped and clawed 
in the water in the greatest agony. Another stab was 
given in the same way, and as the Indian again disap- 
peared, a " white hunter," who had been heretofore an 
uninterested spectator, sprang upon the guards of the 



124 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

"boat, and singing out " red devils, look out below," 
fired. The bear leaped entirely out of the water, fell 
upon his back, and after a convulsive kick or two, float- 
ed lifelessly upon the water. 

This exploit of the white man, so sudden and unex- 
pected, was greeted by a loud shout from all parties. 

' You see," said the hunter, as he coolly laid down 
his rifle — " you see the bear has a feeling, strangers, and 
whar is the use in tormenting the varmint ? my old 
shooting iron never misses, but if it had hit a red-skin 
by accident, I should not have been ashamed of the shot 
— for the bear is the best Christian of the two, and a 
parfect gentleman, compared with the best copper-skin 
that ever breathed." 

The Indians in the water at the last shot expressed 
a significant " ugh," and approaching the bear, gave him 
repeated thrusts with their knives, which showed that 
they thought him a hard-lived and dangerous animal. 
In a few minutes they recovered their canoe, and were 
towing the dead carcass ashore. 

Fifty Indians at least now threw their blankets aside, 
and leaping into the water, swam after the bear. The 
tearing off" of the huge skin, and jerking the meat, was 
dispatched so rapidly, that it indicated an accustomed 
work. 

This little incident relieved the monotony, of all 
others the most disagreeable — that of being aground in 
the Mississippi, and the hours of labor which were spent 



FAMILIAR SCENES ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 125 

in releasing the boat, j^assed quickly away, and by the 
time the Indians returned to their friends in the tender, 
the bell sounded ; — we moved : — and the steamer again 
gallantly bore us toward our place of destination. 



A STOEM SCENE ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 

In the year 18 — , we found ourselves travelling on horse- 
back, "low down on the Mississippi." The weather was 
intensely hot, and as we threaded our way through the 
forests and swamps, through which the river flows, a 
silent and stifled atmosphere prevailed, such as required 
little wisdom to predict as the forerunner of a storm. 

The insects of the woods were more than usually 
troublesome and venomous. The locust would occasion- 
ally make its shrill sounds as on a merry day, then sud- 
denly stop, give a disquiet chirp or two, and relapse into 
silence. The venomous mosquito, revelled in the damp- 
ness of the air, and suspending its clamor of distant 
trumpets, seemed only intent to bite. The crows scold- 
ed like unquiet housewives, high in the air, while higher 
still the buzzard wheeled in graceful but narrowed 
circles. 

The dried twigs in our path bent, instead of snap- 
ping, as the weight of our horses' hoofs pressed upon 



STORM SCENE ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 127 

them, while the animal would put forward his ears, as 
if expecting soon to be very much alarmed ; and lastly, 
to make all those signs certain, the rheumatic limbs of 
an old Indian guide, who accompanied us, suddenly grew 
lame, for he went limping upon his delicately formed 
feet, and occasionally looking aloft with suspicious eyes, 
he proclaimed, that there would be " storm too much ! " 

A storm in the forest is no trifling affair ; the tree 
under which you shelter yourself may draw the light- 
ning upon your head, or its ponderous limbs, pressed 
upon by the winds, drag the heavy trunk to the earth, 
crushing you with itself in its fall ; or some dead branch 
that has for years protruded from among the green 
foliage, may on the very occasion of your presence, fall 
to the ground and destroy you. 

The rain too, which in the forest fi,nds difficulty in 
soaking into the earth, will in a few hours fill up the 
ravines and water-courses, wash away the trail you may 
be following, or destroy the road over which you 
journey. 

All these things we were from experience aware of, 
and as we were some distance from our journey's end, 
and also from any " settlement," we pressed forward to 
a " clearing," which was in our path, as a temporary 
stopping-place, until the coming storm should have 
passed away. 

Our resting-place for the night was on the banks of 
the Mississippi ; it consisted of a rude cabin in the cen- 



128 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

tre of a small garden-spot and field, and had once been 
the residence of a squatter — but now deserted for causes 
unknown to us. The cabin was most pleasantly situated, 
and commanded a fine view of the river both up and 
down its channel. 

"We reached this rude dwelling just as the sun was 
setting, and his disappearance behind the lowlands of 
the Mississippi, was indeed glorious. Refracted by the 
humidity of the atmosphere into a vast globe of fire, it 
seemed to be kindling up the Cypress trees that stretched 
out before us, into a light blaze, while the gathering 
clouds extended the conflagration far north and south, 
and carried it upwards into the heavens. Indeed, so 
glorious for a moment was the sight, that we almost 
fancied that another Phaeton was driving the chariot of 
the Sun, and that in" its ungoverned course, its wheels 
were fired ; and the illusion was quite complete, when we 
heard the distant thunder echoing from those brilliant 
clouds, and saw the lightning, like silver arrows, flash 
across the crimson heavens. 

A moment more, and the sun was extinguished in 
the waters — all light disappeared, and the sudden dark- 
ness that follows sunset as you approach the tropics, 
was upon us. 

With the delightful consciousness of having already 
escaped the storm, we gathered round a pleasant blaze 
formed of dried twigs, kindled by flashing powder in the 
pan of an old-fashioned gun. In the . meantime, the 



STORM SCENE ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 129 

thunder grew more and more distinct, the lightning 
flashed more brightly, and an occasional gust of wind, 
accompanied by sleet, would penetrate between the logs 
that composed our shelter. 

An old wood-chopper, who made one of our party, 
feeling unusually comfortable, grew loquacious ; and he 
detailed with great effect the woeful scenes he had been 
in at different times of his life, the most awful of which 
had been preceded, he said, by just such signs of weather 
as were then exhibiting themselves. 

Among other adventures, he had been wrecked while 
acting as a " hand " on a flat-boat navigating the Mis- 
sissippi. 

He said he had come all the way from Pittsburgh, 
at the head of the Ohio, to within two or three hundred 
miles of Orleans, without meeting with any other serious 
accident, than that of getting out of whiskey twice. 

But one night the captain of the flat-boat said that 
the weather was " crafty," a thing he thought himself, as 
it was most too quiet to last long. 

After detailing several other particulars, he finished 
his story of being wrecked, as follows : " The quiet 
weather I spoke of, was followed by a sudden change ; 
the river grew as rough as an alligator's back ; thar was 
the tallest kind of a noise overhead, and th^ fire flew 
about up thar, like fur in a cat-fight. 

" ' We'll put in shore,' said the captain ; and we tried 

to do it, that's sartain ; but the way in which we always 
6* 



130 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

walked off from a tree, whar we miglit have tied up, was 
a caution to steamboats. 

" ' Keep the current,' said the captain, ' and let us 
sweat it out.' We went on this way some time, when I 
told the captain — said I, Captain, I have never been in 
these diggins afore, but if I haven't seen the same land- 
scape three times, then I can't speak the truth. 

" At this the captain looked hard, and swore that we 
were in an eddy, and doing nothing but whirling round. 

" The lightning just at this time was very accommo- 
dating, and showed us a big tree in the river that had 
stuck fast, and was bowing up and down, ready to re- 
ceive us, and we found ourselves rushing straight on 

to it. 

" The owner of the bacon and other ' plunder,' with 
which the boat was loaded, was on board, — and when 
he saw the ' sawyer,' he eyed it as hard as a small thief 
would a constable ; says he, ' Captain, if that ar fellow 
at the sweep (oar) (fellow meant me)' said he ' Captain, 
if that ar fellow at the sweep don't bear on harder, and 
keep us off that tree, I am a busted-up pork merchant.' 
I did bear on it as well as I could, but the current was 
too strong, and we went on the ' sawyer' all standing. 
The boat broke up like a dried leaf; pork and plunder 
scattered, and I swam, half dead, to the shore. 

" I lost in the whole operation just two shirts, eighteen 
dollars in wages, and half a box of Kaintucky tobacker, 
besides two game cocks. 



STORM SCENE ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 131 

" I tell you what, stranger, a storm on that ar Mis- 
sissipp ain't to be sneezed at." 

The wood-chopper's story, when concluded, would 
have occasioned a general laugh, had there not been 
outside our cabin at this moment a portentous silence, 
which alarmed us all. 

The storm we thought had been upon us in all its 
fury, but we now felt that more was to come ; in the 
midst of this expectation a stream of fire rushed from 
the horizon upwards ; where high over head could be 
seen its zigzag course, then rushed downwards, appa- 
rently almost at our very feet, — a few hundred yards from 
us a tall oak dropped some of its gigantic limbs, and flash- 
ed into a light blaze. The rain, however powerful pre- 
viously, now descended in one continued sheet. The 
roof of our shelter seemed to gather water rather than 
to protect us from it ; little rivulets dashed across the 
floor, and then widening into streams, we were soon lite- 
rally afloat. The descending floods sounded about us 
like the roll-call of a mufiled drum, the noise almost 
deafening us, then dying off in the distance, as the 
sweeping gusts of wind drove the clouds before them. 
The burning forest meanwhile hissed and cracked, and 
rolled up great columns of steam. 

The turbid water of the Mississippi in all this war 
of the elements, rushed on, save where it touched its 
banks, with a smooth but mysterious looking surface 
that resembled in the glare of the lightning, a mirror of 



132 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

bronze, and to heighten this almost unearthly effect, the 
forest trees that lined its most distant shores, rose up 
like mountains of impenetrable darkness, against clouds 
burning with fire. 

The thunder cracked and echoed through the hea- 
vens, and the half starved wolf, nearly dead with fear, 
mingled his cries of distress with the noises without, 
startling us with the momentary conviction, that we 
heard the voices of men in the agony of death. 

Hours passed away and the elements spent their 
fury ; and although the rain continued falling in tor- 
rents, it was finally unaccompanied with lightning. So 
sudden, indeed, were the extremes, that with your eyes 
dilating with the glare of the heavens, you were, a mo- 
ment after, surrounded by the most perfect darkness. 

Confused, bewildered, and soaking wet ; we followed 
the stoical example of our Indian guide, and settling 
down ia a crouching attitude, waited most impatiently 
for the light of the morning. 

The rain continued to descend in gusts, and the same 
deep darkness was upon us ; my companions soon fell 
asleep as soundly as if they were at home ; the long 
drawn respirations added to my misery. Wound up to 
the highest pitch of impatience, I was about starting to 
my feet to utter some angry complaint, when the In- 
dian, whom I thought in a profound slumber, touched 
me upon the arm, and with a peculiar sound, signified 
that I must be silent and listen. 



STORM SCENE ON THE MISSISSIPPI. 133 

This I did do, but I heard nothing save the con- 
tinued clattering of the rain, and after a while I said so. 

For some time the Indian made no reply, although 
I was conscious that he was intensely interested in the 
prevailing dull sounds without. 

Suddenly he sprang upon his feet and groped his 
way to the door. The intrusive noise awoke the wood- 
chopper, who instantly seizing his rifle, sang out : 

" Halloo, what's the matter, you red varmint, snort- 
ing in a man's face like a scared buff'alo bull, what's 
the matter ? " 

^^River too near^^^ was the slow reply of the Indian. 

" He's right, so help me ," shouted the wood- 
chopper, " the banks of the Mississippi ar caving in," 
and then with a spring he leaped through the door and 
bid us follow. 

His advice was quickly obeyed. The Indian was the 
last to leave the cabin, and as he stepped from its thresh- 
old, the weighty unhewn logs that composed it, crum- 
bled, along with the rich soil, into the swift-running 
current of the mysterious river. 

This narrow escape made our fortunes somewhat 
bearable, and we waited with some little patience 
for day. 

At the proper time the sun rose gloriously bright, 
as if its smiling face had never been obscured by a 
cloud. 

The little birds of the woods sung merrily, there 



134 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

was the freshness and beauty of a new creation on every 
thing ; and the landscape of the previous night was in- 
deed altered. The long jutting point where stood the 
squatter's hut and " clearing," had disappeared — house, 
garden-spot, fields, and fences, were obliterated ; the 
water-washed banks were lined only with the unbroken 
forest. 

The stranger, while looking, would never have 
dreamed that the axe and the plough had been in the 
vicinity. 

The caving banks had swept away all signs of hu- 
manity, and left every thing about us in wild and primi- 
tive solitude. 



1 



GEIZZLY BEAE-HUNTINa. 

The every-day sports of the wild woods include many 
feats of daring which never find a pen of record. Con- 
stantly, in the haunts of the savage, are being enacted 
scenes of thrilling interest, the very details of which, 
would make the denizen of enlightened life turn away 
with instinctive dread. 

Every Indian tribe has its heroes ; celebrated re- 
spectively for their courage, in different ways exhibited. 
Some, for their acuteness in pursuing the enemy on the 
war-path ; and others, for the destruction they have ac- 
complished among the wild beasts of the forest. 

A great hunter, among the Indians, is a marked per- 
sonage. It is a title that distinguishes its possessor 
among his people as a prince; while the trophies of 
exploits in which he has been engaged, hang about 
his person as brilliantly as the decorations of so many 
orders. 



136 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

The country in wbich the Osage finds a home pos- 
sesses abundantly the grizzly bear, an animal formidable 
beyond any other inhabitant of the North American 
forests — an animal seemingly insensible to pain, uncer- 
tain in its habits, and by its mighty strength able to 
overcome any living obstacle that comes within its reach, 
as an enemy. The Indian warrior, of any tribe, among 
the haunts of the grizzly bear, finds no necklace so -hon- 
orable to be worn as one formed of the claws of this 
gigantic animal, slain by his own prowess ; and if he 
can add an eagle's plume to his scalp-lock, plucked from 
a bird shot while on the wing, he is honorable indeed. 

The Indian's " smoke," like the fire-side of the white 
man, is often the place where groups of people assemble 
to relate whatever may most pleasantly while away the 
hours of a long evening, or break the monotony of a dull 
and idle day. On such occasions, the old " brave " will 
sometimes relax from his natural gravity, and grow lo- 
quacious over his chequered life. But no recital com- 
mands such undivided attention as the adventures with 
the grizzly bear — even the death of an enemy on the 
war-path hardly vies with it in interest. 

We have listened to these soul- stirring adventures 
over the urn, or while lounging on the sofa ; and the 
recital of the risks run — the hardships endured — have 
made us think them almost impossible, when compared 
with the conventional self-indulgence of enlightened life. 
But they were the tales of a truthful man — a hunter — 



GRIZZLY BEAR-HUNTING. 137 



who had strayed away from the scenes once necessary 
for his life, and who loved, like the worn-out soldier, to 
" fight the battles over," in which he was once engaged. 
It may be, and is the province of the sportsman to 
exaggerate— but the " hunter," surrounded by the mag- 
nificence and sublimity of an American forest, earning 
his bread by the hardy adventures of the chase, meets 
with too much reality to find room for coloring— too 
much of the sublime and terrible in the scenes with 
which he is associated to be boastful of himself. While 
apart from the favorable effects of civilization, he is also 
separated from its contaminations ; cmd boasting and 
exaggeration are settlement weaknesses, and not the 
products of the wild woods. 

The hunter, whether Indian or white, presents one 
of the most extraordinary exhibitions of the singular 
capacity of the human senses to be improved by cultiva- 
tion. We are accustomed to look with surprise upon 
the instincts of animals and insects. We wonder and 
admire the sagacity they display, for the purposes of 
self-preservation— both in attack and defence. The 
lion, the bear, the beaver, the bee, all betray a species 
of intelligence, that seems for their particular purposes 
superior to the wisdom of man ; yet, on examination, 
it will be found that this is not the case. For all his- 
tories of the human denizen of the forest show, that the 
Indian surpasses the brute in sagacity, while the white 
hunter excels both animal and savage. 



138 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

The unfortunate deaf, dumb, and blind girl, in one 
of our public institutions,* selects her food, her clothing, 
and her friends, by the touch alone — so delicate has it 
become, from the mind's being directed to that sense 
alone. 

The forest hunter is compelled by circumstances to 
cultivate his sight, to almost the same degree of perfec- 
tion characterizing the blind girl's touch, and experience 
at last renders it so keen, that the slightest touch of a 
passing object on the leaves, trees, or earth, leaves to 
him a deep and visible impression, though to the com- 
mon eye unseen as the path of the bird through the air. 
This knowledge governs the chase and the war-path ; 
this knowledge is what, when excelled in, makes the 
master-spirit among the rude inhabitants of the woods : 
and that man is the greatest chief, who follows the cold- 
est trail, and leaves none behind him by his own foot- 
steps. 

The hunter in pursuit of the grizzly bear is governed 
by this instinct of sight — it guides him with more cer- 
tainty than the hound is directed by his nose. The im- 
pressions of the bear's footsteps upon the leaves, its 
marks on the trees, its resting-places, are all known long 
before the bear is really seen ; and the hunter, while 
thus following " the trail," calculates the very sex, 
weight, and age with certainty. Thus it is that he will 

* Hartford Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb. 



GRIZZLY BEAR-HUNTING, 139 

neglect, or choose a trail — for in those indistinct paths, 
are visible to his mind's eye, bear that are young and 
old, lean and fat. You look into the forest, all is va- 
cant ; the hunter, at a casual glance, detects where 
has passed his object of pursuit, and grows as enthusi- 
astic over this spiritual representation as if the reality 
was before him — and herein, perhaps, lies the distinction 
between the sportsman, and the huntsman. The hunter 
follows his object by his own knowledge and instinct, 
while the sportsman employs the instinct of domesticated 
animals to assist in his pursuits. 

The different methods by which to destroy the grizzly 
bear, by those who hunt them, are as numerous as the 
bears that are killed. They are not animals which per- 
mit of a system in hunting them; and it is for this reason 
that they are so dangerous and difficult to destroy. The 
experience of one hunt may cost a limb or a life in the 
next one, if used as a criterion ; and fatal, indeed, is a 
mistake, — when you grapple with an animal, whose gi- 
gantic strength enables him to lift a horse in his huge 
arms, and bear it away as a prize. There is one terrible 
exception to this rule ; one habit of the animal may be 
certainly calculated upon, but a daring heart only can 
take advantage of it. 

The grizzly bear, like the tiger and lion, have their 
caves in which they live ; but they use them principally 
as a safe lodging-place when the cold of winter renders 
them torpid and disposed to sleep. To these caves they 



140 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

retire late in the fall, and they seldom venture out until 
awakened by the genial warmth of spring. Sometimes 
two occupy one cave, but this is not often the case, as 
the unsociability of the animal is proverbial, it preferring 
to be solitary and alone. 

A knowledge of the forests, and an occasional trail- 
ing for bear, informs the hunter of these caves ; and the 
only habit of the grizzly bear that can with certainty be 
taken advantage of, is the one of his being in his cave at 
the proper season. And the hunter has the terrible 
liberty of entering this den single-handed, and there 
destroying him. Of this only method of hunting the 
grizzly bear we would attempt a description. 

The thought of entering a cave, inhabited by one of 
the most powerful beasts of prey, is calculated to try the 
strength of the stoutest nerves ; and when it is con- 
sidered that the least trepidation, the slightest mistake, 
may cause, and probably will result, in the instant death 
of the hunter, it certainly exhibits the highest demon- 
stration of physical courage to pursue such a method of 
hunting. Yet there are many persons in the forests of 
North America who engage in such perilous adventures 
with no other object in view than the " sjjort " or a 
hearty meal. 

The hunter's preparations to " beard the lion in his 

den," commence with examining the mouth of the cave 
he is about to enter. Upon the signs there exhibited, 
he decides whether the bear be alone ; for if there be 



GRIZZLY BEAR-HUNTING. 



141 



two, the cave is never entered. The size of the bear is 
also thus known, and the time since he was last in search 

of food. 

The way that this knowledge is obtained, from indi- 
cations so slight, or unseen to an ordinary eye, is one 
of the greatest mysteries of the woods. 

Placing ourselves at the mouth of the cave contain- 
ing a grizzly bear, to our untutored senses, there would 
be nothing to distinguish it from one that is unoccupied ; 
but let some Diana of the forest touch our eyes, and 
give us the instinct of sight possessed by the huntcF, 
and we would argue thus : 

<' From all the marks about the mouth of the cave, 
the occupant has not been out for a great length of. time, 
for the grass and the earth have not been lately dis- 
turbed. 

" The bear is in the cave, for the last tracks made 
are with the toe-marks towards it. 

" There is but one bear, because the tracks are reg- 
ular and of the same size. 

"He is a large animal ; the length of the step and 
the size of the paw indicate this. 

"And he is fat, because his Imid feet do not step in 
the impressions made by the fore o)ies, as is always the 
case with a lean bear." 

Such are the signs and arguments that present them- 
selves to the hunter; and mysterious as they seem, 
when not understood, when once explained, they strike 



142 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

the imagination as being founded on the unerring sim- 
plicity and certainty of nature. 

It may be asked, how is it that the grizzly bear is so 
formidable to numbers when met in the forest, but when 
in a cave can be assailed successfully by a single man ? 
In answer to this, we must recollect that the bear is 
only attacked in his cave when he is in total darkness, 
and suffering from surprise and the torpidity of the 
season. 

These three things are in this method of hunting 
taken advantage of ; and but for these advantages, no 
quickness of eye, steadiness of nerve or forest expe- 
rience, would protect for an instant, the intruder to the 
cave of the grizzly bear. 

The hunter, having satisfied himself about the cave, 
prepares a candle, which he makes out of the wax taken 
from the comb of wild bees, softened by the grease of 
the bear. This candle has a large wick, and emits a 
brilliant flame. Nothing else is needed but the rifle. 
The knife and the belt are useless; for if a struggle 
should ensue that would make it available, the foe is tot, 
powerful to mind its thrusts before the hand using it 
would be dead. 

Bearing the candle before him, with the rifle in a 
convenient position, the hunter fearlessly enters the 
cave. He is soon surrounded by darkness, and is to- 
tally unconscious where his enemy will reveal himself. 
Having fixed the candle in the ground in firm position, 



GRIZZLY BEAR-HUNTING. 143 

with a provided apparatus, lie lights it, and its brilliant 
flame soon penetrates into the recesses of the cavern — 
its size of course, rendering the illumination more or less 
complete. 

The hunter now places himself on his belly, having 
the candle between the back part of the cave where the 
bear sleeps, and himself; in this position, with the muz- 
zle of the rifle protruding out in front of him, he pa- 
tiently waits for his victim. A short time only elapses 
before Bruin is aroused by the light. The noise made 
by his starting from sleep attracts the hunter, and he 
soon distinguishes the black mass ; moving, stretching, 
and yawning like a person awaked from a deep sleep. 

The hunter moves not, but prepares his rifle ; the 
bear, finally aroused, turns his head towards the candle, 
and, with slow and waddling steps, approaches it. 

Now is the time that tries the nerves of the hunter ; 
it is too late to retreat, and his life hangs upon his cer- 
tain aim and the goodness of his powder. The slightest 
variation in the bullet, or a flashing pan, and he is a 
doomed man. 

So tenacious of life is the common black bear, that 
it is frequently wounded in its most vital parts, and still 
will escape, or give terrible battle. 

But the grizzly bear seems to possess an infinitely 
-greater tenacity of life. His skin, covered by matted 
hair, and the huge bones of his body, protect the heart 
as if incased in a wall ; while the brain is buried in a 



144 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

skull, compared to which, adamant is not harder. A 
bullet, striking the bear's forehead, would flatten, if it 
struck squarely on the solid bone, as if fired against a 
rock ; and dangerous indeed would it be to take the 
chance of reaching the animal's heart. 

With these fearful odds against the hunter, the bear 
approaches the candle, growing every moment more sen- 
sible of some uncommon intrusion. He reaches the 
blaze, and raises his paw to strike it, 'or lifts his nose to 
scent it, — either of which will extinguish it, and leave the 
hunter and the bear in total darkness. 

This dreadful moment is taken advantage of — the 
loud report of the rifle fills the cave with stunning noise 
— and as the light disappears, the ball, if successfully 
fired, penetrates the eye of the huge animal — the only 
place where it would find a passage to the brain ; and 
this not only gives the death-wound, but instantly par- 
alyzes, that no temporary resistance may be made. 

On such fearfiil chances the American hunter perils 
his life, and often thoughtlessly, courts the danger. 



A PIANO IN ARKANSAS. 

We shall never forget the excitement which seized upon 
the inhabitants of the little village of Hardscrabble, as 
the report spread through the community, that a real 
piano had actually arrived within its precincts. 

Speculation was afloat as to its appearance and its 
use. The name was familiar to every body ; but what 
it precisely meant, no one could tell. That it had legs 
was certain ;— for a stray volume of some literary tra- 
veller was one of the most conspicuous works in the float- 
ing library of Hardscrabble ; and said traveller stated, 
that he had seen a piano somewhere in New England 
with pantalettes on— also, an old foreign paper was 
brought forward, in which there was an advertisement 
headed " Soiree," which informed the " citizens gene- 
rally," that Mr. Bobolink would preside at the piano. 

This was presumed by several wiseacres, who had 
been to a menagerie, to mean, that Mr. Bobolink stirred 
the piano up with a long pole, in the same way that the 
showman did the lions and rhi-no-ce-rus. 
7 



146 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

So, public opinion was in favor of its being an ani- 
mal, though a harmless one ] for there had been a land 
speculator through the village a few weeks previously, 
who distributed circulars of a " Female Academy," for 
the accomplishment of young ladies. These circulars 
distinctly stated " the use of the piano to be one dollar 
per month." 

One knowing old chap said, if they would tell him 
what so-i-ree meant, he would tell them what a piano 
was, and no mistake. 

The owner of this strange instrument was no less 
than a very quiet and very respectable late merchant of 
a little town somewhere " north," who having failed at 
home, had emigrated into the new and hospitable coun- 
try of Arkansas, for the purpose of bettering his for- 
tune, and escaping the heartless sympathy of his more 
lucky neighbors, who seemed to consider him a very 
bad and degraded man because he had become honestly 
poor. 

The new comers were strangers, of course. The 
house in which they were setting up their furniture was 
too little arranged "to admit of calls;" and as the fa- 
mily seemed very little disposed to court society, all 
prospects of immediately solving the mystery that hung 
about the piano seemed hopeless. In the mean time 
public opinion was " rife." 

The depository of this strange thing was looked upon 
by the passers-by with indefinable awe ; and as noises 



A PIANO IN ARKANSAS. 147 

unfamiliar, sometimes reached the street, it was pre- 
sumed that the piano made them, and the excitement 
rose higher than ever — in the midst of it, one or two 
old ladies, presuming upon their age and respectability, 
called upon the strangers and inquired after their 
health, and offered their services and friendship ; mean- 
time every thing in the house was eyed with the great- 
est intensity, but seeing nothing strange, a hint was 
given about the piano. One of the new family observed 
carelessly, " that it had been much injured by bringing 
out, that the damp had affected its tones, and that one 
of its legs was so injured that it would not stand up, 
and for the present it would not ornament the parlor." 

Here was an explanation, indeed : injured in bring- 
ing out — damp affecting its tones — leg broken. " Poor 
thing ! " ejaculated the old ladies with real sympathy, 
as they proceeded homeward ; " travelling has evidently 
fatigued it ; the Mass-is-sip fogs have given it a cold, 
poor thing ! " and they wished to see it with increased 
curiosity. 

The " village" agreed, that if Moses Mercer, fami- 
liarly called Mo Mercer," was in town, they would have 
a description of the piano, and the uses to which it was 
put ; and fortunately, in the midst of the excitement, 
" Mo" arrived, he having been temporarily absent on a 
hunting expedition. 

Moses Mercer was the only son of " old Mercer," 
who was, and had been, in the State Senate ever since 



148 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

Arkansas was admitted into the " Union." Mo, from 
this fact, received great glorj, of course ; his father's 
greatness alone would have stamped him with supe- 
riority ; but his having been twice to the " Capitol" 
when the legislature was in session, stamped his claims 
to preeminence over all competitors. 

Mo Mercer was the oracle of the renowned village 
of Hardscrabble. 

" Mo" knew every thing ; he had all the consequence 
and complacency of a man who had never seen his 
equal, and never expected to. " Mo" bragged exten- 
sively upon his having been to the " Capitol" twice, — 
of his there having been in the most " fashionable soci- 
ety," — of having seen the world. His return to town 
was therefore received with a shout. The arrival of the 
piano was announced to him, and he alone of all the 
community, was not astonished at the news 

His insensibility was considered wonderful. He 
treated the piano as a thing that he was used to, and 
went on, among other things to say, that he had seen 
more pianos in the " Capitol " than he had ever seen 
woodchucks ; and that it was not an animal, but a musi- 
cal instrument, played upon by the ladies ; and he wound 
up his description by saying that the way " the dear 
creeters could pull music out of it was a caution to 
hoarse owls." 

The new turn given to the piano excitement in 
Hardscrabble by Mo Mercer, was like pouring oil on 



A PIANO IN ARKANSAS. ' 149 

fire to extinguish it, for it blazed out with more vigor 
than ever. That it was a musical instrument, made it a 
rarer thing in that wild country than if it had been an 
animal, and people of all sizes, colors, and degrees, were 
dying to see and hear it. 

Jim Cash was Mo Mercer's right-hand man ; in the 
language of refined society, he was " Mo's toady," — in 
the language of Hardscrabble, he was " Mo's wheel- 
horse." Cash believed in Mo Mercer with an abandon- 
ment that was perfectly ridiculous. Mr. Cash was dy- 
ing to see the piano, and the first opportunity he had 
alone with his Quixote, he expressed the desire that 
was consuming his vitals. 

" AVe'll go at once and see it," said Mercer. 
" Strangers ! " echoed the frightened Cash. 
' Humbug ! Do you think I have visited the * Ca- 
pitol' twice, and don't know how to treat fashionable so- 
ciety ? Come along at once, Cash," said Mercer. 

Oft' ihe pair started, Mercer all confidence, and Cash 
all fears, as to the propriety of the visit. These fears 
Cash frankly expressed ; but Mercer repeated, for the 
thousandth time, His experience in the fashionable soci- 
ety of the " Capitol, and pianos," which he said " was 
synonymous" — and he finally told Cash, to comfort him, 
that however abashed and ashamed he might be in the 
presence of the ladies, " that he needn't fear of sticking, 
for he would pull him through." 

A few minutes' walk brought the parties on the 



150 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

broad galleries of tlie house that contained the object 
of so much curiosity. The doors and windows were 
closed, and a suspicious look was on every thing. 

" Do they always keep a house closed up this way 
that has a piano in it ? " asked Cash, mysteriously. 

" Certainly," replied Mercer ; " the damp would de- 
stroy its tones," 

Repeated knocks at the doors, and finally at the 
windows, satisfied both Cash and Mercer that nobody 
was at home. In the midst of their disappointment. 
Cash discovered a singular machine at the end of the 
gallery, crossed by bars and rollers, and surmounted 
with an enormous crank. Cash approached it on tip- 
toe ; he had a presentiment that he beheld the object of 
his curiosity, and as its intricate character unfolded it- 
self, he gazed with distended eyes, and asked Mercer, 
with breathless anxiety, " What that strange and in- 
comprehensible box was ? " 

Mercer turned to the thing as coolly as a north wind 
to an icicle, and said " that was ^Y." 

'' That IT ! ! " exclaimed Cash, opening his eyes still 
wider; and then recovering himself, he asked to see 
" the tones." 

Mercer pointed to the cross-bars and rollers. With 
trembling hands, with a resolution that would enable a 
man to be scalped without winking. Cash reached out 
his hand, and seized the handle of the crank (Cash, at 
heart, was a brave and fearless man) ; he gave it a turn. 



A PIANO IN ARKANSAS. 151 

the machinery grated harshly, and seemed to clamor for 
something to be put in its m'nv. 

" What delicious sounds ! " said Cash. 

" Beautiful ! " observed the complacent Mercer, at 
the same time seizing Cash's arm, and asking him to 
desist, for fear of breaking the instrument, or getting it 
out of tune. 

The simple caution was sufficient ; and Cash, in the 
joy of the moment, at what he had done and seen, look- 
ed as conceited as Mo Mercer himself. 

Busy, indeed, was Cash, from this time forward, in 
explaining to gaping crowds the exact appearance of the 
piano, how he had actually taken hold of it, and, as 
his friend Mo Mercer observed, " pulled music out 
of it." 

The curiosity of the village was thus allayed, and 
consequently died comparatively away ; Cash, however, 
having risen to almost as much importance as Mo Mer- 
cer, for having seen and handled the thing. 

Our " Northern family " knew little or nothing of all 
this excitement ; they received meanwhile the visits and 
congratulations of the hospitable villagers, and resolved 
to give a grand party to return some of the kindness 
they had received, and the piano was, for the first time, 
moved into the parlor. No invitation on this occasion 
was neglected ; early at the post was every visitor, for it 
was rumored that Miss Patience Doolittle would, in the 
course of the evening, '"perform on the piano." 



152 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER, 

The excitement was immense. Tlie supper was pass- 
ed over with a contempt, rivalling that which is cast 
upon an excellent farce played preparatory to a dull 
tragedy, in which the star is to appear. The furniture 
was all critically examined ; but nothing could be dis- 
covered answering Cash's description. An enormously 
thick-leafed table, with a " spread " upon it, attracted 
little attention, tiinber being so very cheap in a new 
country, and so every body expected soon to see the 
piano " brought in." 

Mercer, of course, was the hero of the evening ; 
he talked much and loudly. Cash, as well as several 
young ladies, went into hysterics at his wit, Mercer, 
as the evening wore away, grew exceedingly conceited, 
even for him ; and he graciously asserted that the com- 
pany present reminded him of his two visits to the " Ca- 
pitol," and other associations, equally exclusive and pe- 
culiar. 

The evening wore on apace, and still — no piano. That 
hope deferred which maketh the heart sick, was felt by 
some elderly ladies, and by a few younger ones ; and 
Mercer was solicited to ask Miss Patience Doolittle, to 
favor the company with the presence of the piano. 

" Certainly," said Mercer, and with the grace of a 
city dandy he called upon the lady to gratify all present 
with a little music, prefacing his request with the remark, 
that if she was fatigued, " his friend Cash would give the 
machine a turrit 




'eg Del. 



' She approached the thick leafed table, and removed the covering, thiowinj 
it carelessly and gracefully ssi([e.'"—page 153. 



A PIANO IN ARKANSAS. 153 

Miss Patience smiled, and looked at Cask 

Cash's knees trembled. 

All eyes in the room turned upon him. 

Cash sweat all over. 

Miss Patience said she was gratified to hear that Mr. 
Cash was a musician ; she admired people who had a 
musical taste. Whereupon Cash fell into a chair, as he 
afterwards observed, " chawed-up." 

Oh that Beau Brummel, or any of his admirers could 
have seen Mo Mercer all this while ! Calm as a sum- 
mer morning — complacent as a newly-painted sign — he 
smiled and patronized, and was the only unexcited per- 
son in the room. 

Miss Patience rose, — a sigh escaped from all pre- 
sent, — the piano was evidently to be brought in. She 
approached the thick-leafed table, and removed the 
covering, throwing it carelessly and gracefully aside; 
opened the instrument, and presented the beautiful ar- 
rangement of dark and white keys. 

Mo Mercer at this, for the first time in his life, look- 
ed confused ; he was Cash's authority in his descriptions 
of the appearance of the piano ; while Cash himself, be- 
gan to recover the moment that he ceased to be an ob- 
ject of attention. Many a whisper now ran through the 
room as to the "tones," and more particularly the 
"crank;" none could see them. 

Miss Patience took her seat, ran her fingers over a 
few octaves, and if "Moses in Egypt" was not perfectly 



154 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTE... 

executed^ Moses in Hardscrabble ivas. The dulcet 
sounds ceased. " Miss," said Cash, the moment that 
he could express himself, so entranced was he by the 
music, — " Miss Doolittle, what was that instrument Mo 
Mercer showed me in your gallery once, that went by a 
crank, and had rollers in it ? " 

It was now the time for Miss Patience to blush ; so 
away went the blood from confusion to her cheeks ; she 
hesitated, stammered, and said, " if Mr. Cash must know, 
it was a — a — a — Yankee washing machine.'''' 

The name grated on Mo Mercer's ears as if rusty 
nails had been thrust into them ; the heretofore invul- 
nerable Mercer's knees trembled ; the sweat started to 
his brow as he heard the taunting whispers of " visiting 
the Capitol twice," and seeing pianos as plenty as wood- 
chucks. 

The fashionable vices of envy and maliciousness, were 
that moment sown in the village of Hardscrabble ; and 
Mo Mercer — the great — the confident — the happy and 
self-possessed — surprising as it may seem, was the first 
victim sacrificed to their influence. 

Time wore on, and pianos became common, and Mo 
Mercer less popular ; and he finally disappeared alto- 
gether, on the evening of the day on which a Yankee 
peddler of notions sold, to the highest bidder, " six pa- 
tent, warranted, and improved Mo Mercer pianos." 



WILD-CAT HUNTING. 

In the southern portions of the United States, but es- 
pecially in Louisiana, the wild-cat is found in abundance. 
The dense swamps that border on the Mississippi, pro- 
tect this vicious species of game from extermination, 
and foster their increase ; and, although every year vast 
numbers are killed, they remain seemingly as numerous 
as they ever were " in the memory of the oldest inhabit- 
ant." ^ . 
The wild-cat seeks the most solitary retreats m 

^hich to rear its young, where in some natural hole m 
the ground, or some hollow tree, it finds protection for 
itself and its kittens from the destructive hand of man. 
At night, or early morn, it comes abroad, stealmg over 
the dried leaves, in search of prey, as quietly as a 
zephyr, or ascending the forest tree with almost the 
ease of a bird. 



156 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

The nest on the tree, and the burrow in the ground 
are alike invaded ; while the poultry-yard of the farmer, 
and his sheepfold, are drawn on liberally, to supply the 
cat with food. It hunts down the rabbit, coon, and pos- 
sum, and springs from the elevated bough upon the bird 
perched beneath, catching in its mouth its victim; and 
will do this while descending like an arrow in speed, 
and with the softness of a feather to the ground. 
Nothing can exceed its beauty of motion when in pur- 
suit of game, or sporting in play. No leap seems too 
formidable — no attitude ungraceful. It runs — flies — 
leaps — skips — and is at ease, in an instant of time ; 
every hair of its body seems redolent with life. 

Its disposition is untamable ; it seems insensible 
to kindness ; a mere mass of ill-nature, having no sym- 
pathies with any, not even of its own kind. It is for 
this reason, no doubt, that it is so recklessly pursued ; 
its paw being, like the hand of the Ishmaelite, against 
every man ; and it most indubitably follows, that every 
man's dogs, sticks, and guns, are against it. The 
hounds themselves, that hunt equally well the cat and 
the fox, pursue the former with a clamorous joy, and 
kill it with a zest which they do not display when finish- 
ing off a fine run after Keynard. In fact, as an animal 
of sport, the cat in many respects is preferable to the 
fox ; its trail is always warmer, and it shows more sa- 
gacity in eluding its enemies. 

In Louisiana the sportsman starts out in the morn- 



WILD-CAT HUNTING. 



157. 



ing, professedly for a fox-chase, and it turns out " cat," 
and often both cat and fox are killed, after a short but 
hard morning's work. 

The chase is varied, and is frequently full of amus- 
ino- incident, for the cat, as might be expected, will take 
to the trees, to avoid pursuit, and this habit of the ani- 
mal allows the sportsman to meet it on quite familiar 
terms. If the tree be a tall one, the excitable creature 
manages to have its face obscured by the distance ; but 
if it takes to a dead, limbless trunk, where the height 
will permit its head to be fairly seen, as it looks down 
upon the pack that, with such open mouths, 

" Fetch slirill echoes from the hollow earth," 

you will see a rare exhibition of rage and fury; eyes 
that seem like living balls of fire, poisonous claws, which 
clutch the insensible wood with deep indentations ; the 
foam trembles on its jaws ; the hair stands up like por- 
cupine quills ; the ears press down to the head, forming 
as perfect a picture of vicious, ungovernable destructive- 
ness as can be imagined. A charge of mustard-seed 
shot, or a poke with a stick when at bay, will cause it to 
desert its airy abode ; and it no sooner touches the 
ground, than it breaks off at a killing pace, the pack 
like mad fiends on its trail. 

Besides " treeing," the cat will take advantage of 
some hole in the ground, and disappear, when it meets 



158 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

■with these hiding-places, as suddenly as ghosts vanish 
at cock-crowing. The hounds come up to the hiding- 
place, and a fight ensues. The first head intruded into 
the cat's hole is sure to meet with a warm reception. 
Claws and teeth do their work. 

Still the staunch hound heeds it not, and either he 
gets a hold himself, or acts as a bait to draw the cat 
from its burrow ; thus fastened, the dog, being the most 
powerful in strength, backs out, dragging his enemy 
along with him ; and no sooner is the cat's head seen by 
the rest of the pack, than they pounce upon it, and in a 
few moments the " nine lives " of the '' varmint " are 
literally chawed-up. 

At one of these burrowings, a huge cat intruded into 
a hole so small, that an ordinarily large hound could not 
follow. A little stunted but excellent dog, rejoicing in 
the name of Ringwood, from his diminutiveness succeed- 
ed in forcing his way into the hole after the cat ; in an 
instant a faint scream was heard, and the little fellow 
gave symptoms of having caught a Tartar. One of the 
party present stooped down, and running his arm under 
the dog's body, pressed it forward, until he could feel 
that the cat had the dog firmly clawed by each shoulder, 
with his nose in the cat's mouth ; in this situation, by 
pressing the dog firmly under the chest, the two were 
drawn from the hole. 

The cat hung on untix he discovered that his victim 
was surrounded by numerous friends, when he let go 



WILD-CAT HUNTING. 1-'^ 

his cruel hold, the more vigorously to defend himself. 
Biugwood, though covered with jetting blood, jumped 
upon the cat, and shook away as if unharmed in the 

contest. 

Sportsmen, in hunting the cat, provide themselves 
generally with pistols— not for the purpose of killing 
the cat, hut to annoy it, so that it will leap from the 
tree, when it has taken to one. Sometimes from negli- 
gence these infantile shooting-irons are left at home, and 
the cat gets safely out of the reach of sticks, or whatever 
other missile may be convenient. This is a most pro- 
voking affair; dogs and sportsmen lose all patience; 
and as no expedient suggests itself, the cat escapes for 

the time. 

I once knew a cat thus perched out of reach, that 
was brought to terras in a very singular manner. 

The tree on which the animal was lodged being a 
very high one, and secure from all interruption, it looked 
down upon its pursuers with the most provoking compla- 
cency ; every effort to dislodge it had failed, and the 
hunt was about to be abandoned in despair, when one 
of the sportsmen discovered a grape-vine that passed 
directly over the cat^s body, and by running his eyes 
along its circumvolutions, traced it down to the ground ; 
a judicious jerk at the vine touched the cat on the rump ; 
this was most unexpected, and it instantly leaped to the 
ground from a height of over forty feet; striking on its 
fore paws, and throwing a sort of rough somerset, it 



160 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

started off as sound in limb and wind, as if he had just 
jumped from a " hucklebury " bush. 

The hunter of the wild turkey, while "calling," in 
imitation of the hen, to allure the gobbler within reach 
of his gun, will sometimes be annoyed by the appearance 
of the wild-cat stealing up to the place from whence the 
sounds proceed. The greatest caution on such occasions 
is visible in the cat; it. progresses by the slowest possible 
movements, crawling along like a serpent. The hunter 
knows that the intruder has spoiled his turkey sport for 
the morning, and his only revenge is to wait patiently, 
and give the cat the contents of his gun, then, minus all 
game, he goes home anathematizing the whole race of 
cats, for thus interfering with his sport and his dinner. 

Of all the peculiarities of the cat, its untameable and 
quarrelsome disposition, is its most marked character- 
istic. 

There is no half-way mark, no exception, no occa- 
sional moment of good nature ; starvation and a surfeit, 
blows and kind words, kicks, cuffs, and fresh meat, reach 
not the sympathies of the wild-cat. 

He has all the greediness of a pawnbroker, the ill na- 
ture of a usurer, the meanness of a pettifogging lawyer, 
the blind rage of the hog, and the apparent insensibility 
to pain of the turtle : like a woman, the wild-cat is in- 
comparable with any thing but itself. 

In expression of face, the wild-cat singularly resem- 
bles the rattlesnake. The skulls of these two " var- 



WILD-CAT HUNTING. 161 

mints " have the same venomous expression, the same 
demonstration of fangs ; and probably no two living crea- 
tures attack each other with more deadly ferocity and 
hate. They will stare at each other with eyes filled 
with defiance, and burning with fire ; one hissing, and 
the other snarling; presenting a most terrible picture of 
the malevolence of passion. 

The serpent in his attitudes is all grace — the cat, all 
activity. The serpent moves with the quickness of 
lightning while making the attack ; the cat defends 
with motions equally quick, bounding from side to side, 
striking with its paws. Both are often victims, for they 
seldom separate until death-blows have been inflicted on 
either side. 

The western hunter, when he wishes to cap the cli- 
max of braggadocio, with respect to his own prowess, 
says, " He can whip his weight in wild-cats." This is 
saying all that can be said, for it would seem, consider- 
ing its size, that the cat in a fight can bite fiercer, scratch 
harder, and live longer than any other animal whatever. 

" I am a roaring earthquake in a fight," sung out 
one of the half -horse, half- alligator species of fellows — 
" a real snorter of the universe. I can strike as hard as 
fourth proof lightning, and keep it up, rough and tum- 
ble, as long as a wild-cat." 

These high encomiums on the character of the pug- 
nacity of the cat are beyond question. 

A " singed cat " is an excellent proverb, illustrating 



162 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

that a person may be smarter than he looks. A singed 
wild-c&t, as such an illustration, would be sublime. 

The Indians, who, in their notions and traditions, 
are always picturesque and beautiful, imagine that the 
rattlesnake, to live, must breathe the poisonous air of 
the swamps, and the exhalations of decayed animal mat- 
ter ; while the cat has the attribute of gloating over the 
meaner displays of evil passions of a quarrelsome per- 
son ; for, speaking of a quarrelsome family, they say, 
'' That the lodge containing it fatte?is tlie wild-cat.''^ 



4 




Mike Fink's Great Siiot. 



MIKE FINK, THE KEEL-BOATMAN. 

Occasionally, may be seen on the OHo and Missis- 
sippi rivers singularly hearty-looking men, who would 
puzzle a stranger, as to their history and age. Their 
bodies always exhibit a powerful development of muscle 
and bone ; their cheeks are prominent, and you would 
pronounce them men enjoying perfect health in middle 
life, were it not for their heads, which, if not entirely 
bald, will be but sparsely covered with steel-gray hair. 

Another peculiarity about this people is, that they 
have a singular knowledge of all the places on the river; 
every bar and bend is spoken of with precision and 
familiarity; every town is recollected before it was half 
as large as the present, or," when it was no town at all." 
Innumerable places are marked out by them, where once 
was an Indian fight, or a rendezvous of robbers. 

The manner, the language, and the dress of these 



164 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

individuals are all characteristic of sterling common 
sense — the manner modest, yet full of self-reliance — the 
language strong and forcible, from superiority of mind, 
rather than from education — the dress studied for -com- 
fort, rather than fashion — on the whole, you become at- 
tached to them and court their society. The good hu- 
mor — the frankness — the practical sense — the reminis- 
cences — the powerful frame — all indicate a character, 
at the present day anomalous : and such, indeed, is the 
case, for your acquaintance will be one of the few re- 
maining people, now spoken of as the " Last of the keel- 
boatmen." 

Thirty years ago the navigation of the Western wa- 
ters was confined to this class of men ; the obstacles 
presented to the pursuit of commerce in those swift- 
running and wayward waters had to be overcome by 
physical force alone ; the navigator's arm grew strong 
as he guided his rude craft past the " snag " and 
" sawyer," or kept it off the no less dreaded " bar." 

Besides all this, the deep forests that covered the 
river banks concealed the wily Indian, who gloated over 
the shedding of blood. The qualities of the frontier 
warrior, therefore, associated themselves with those of 
the boatman, while these men would, when at home, 
drop both these characters in that of cultivator of the 
soil. 

It is no wonder, then, that they were brave, 
hardy, and open-handed men : their whole lives were a 



MIKE FINK, THE KEEL-BOATMAN. 165 

round of manly excitement ; they were, when most na- 
tural, hyperbolical in thought and in deed, if compared 
with any other class of men. Their bravery and chiv- 
alrous deeds were performed without a herald to pro- 
claim them to the world — they were the mere incidents 
of a border life, considered too common to attract atten- 
tion, or outlive the time of a passing wonder. Death 
has nearly destroyed the men, and obscurity is fast ob- 
literating the record of their deeds ; but a few examples 
still exist, as if to justify the truth of these wonderful 
exploits, now almost wholly confined to tradition. 

Among the flat-boatmen there were none who gained 
more notoriety than Mike Fink. His name is still re- 
membered along the whole of the Ohio, as a man who 
excelled his fellows in every thing, — particularly in his 
rifle-shot, which was acknowledged to be unsurpassed. 
Probably no man ever lived, who could compete with 
Mike in the latter accomplishment. Strong as Hercu- 
les, free from all nervous excitement, possessed of per- 
fect health, and familiar with his weapon from child- 
hood ; he raised the rifle to his eye, and, having once 
taken sight, it was as firmly fixed as if buried in a 
rock. 

The rifle was Mike's pride, and he rejoiced on all oc- 
casions where he could bring it into use, whether it was 
turned against the beast of prey or the more savage In- 
dian : and in his day, the last named was the common 
foe with whom Mike and his associates had to contend. 



166 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTEK. 

On the occasion when we would particularly intro- 
duce Mike to the reader, he had bound himself for a 
while to the pursuits of trade, until a voyage from the 
head-waters of the Ohio, and down the Mississippi, 
could be completed. Heretofore he had kept himself 
exclusively to the Ohio, but a liberal reward, and some 
curiosity, prompted him to extend his business charac- 
ter beyond his ordinary habits and inclinations. 

In the accomplishment of this object, he lolled 
carelessly over the big " sweep" that guided the " flat " 
on which he officiated ; — the current of the river bore the 
boat swiftly along, and made his labor light. Wild and 
uncultivated as Mike appeared, he loved nature, and had 
a soul that sometimes felt, while admiring it, an exalted 
enthusiasm. 

The beautiful Ohio was his favorite stream. From 
where it runs no stronger than a gentle rivulet, to where 
it mixes with the muddy Mississippi, Mike was as 
familiar with its meanderings, as a child could be with 
those of a flower-garden. He could not help noticing 
with sorrow the desecrating hand of improvement as he 
passed along, and half soliloquizing, and half addressing 
his companions, he broke forth : 

" I knew these parts afore a squatter's axe had 

blazed a tree ; 'twasn't then pulling a sweep to 

get a living ; but pulling the trigger, did the business. 
Those were times to see ; — a man might call himself 
lucky then. 



MIKE FINK, THE KEEL-BOATMAN. KV/ 

" What's the use of improvements ? 

" When did cutting down trees make deer more 
plenty ? 

" Who ever found wild buffalo, or a brave Indian, 
in a city 1 Where's the fun, the frolicking, the fight- 
ing ? Gone ! Grone ! 

" The rifle won't make a man a living now — he 
must turn mule and work. If forests continue this way 
to be used up, I may yet be smothered in a settlement. 
Boys, this 'ere life won't do. I'll stick to the broad- 
horn 'cordin' to contract ; but once done with it, I'm off 
for a frolic. If the Choctas or Cherokees on the Mas- 
sissip don't give us a brush as we pass along, I shall 
grow as poor as a starved wolf in a pitfall. 

" I must, to live peaceably, point my rifle at some- 
thing more dangerous than varmint. Six months and 
no fight, would spile me worse than a 'tack of rheuma- 
tism." 

Mike ceased speaking. The then beautiful village 
of Louisville appeared in sight ; the labor of landing the 
boat occupied his attention — the bustle and confusion 
that followed such an incident ensued ; and Mike was his 
own master by law, until his employers ceased trafficking, 
and again required his services. 

At the time we write of, a great many renegade In- 
dians lived about the settlements, which is still the case 
in the extreme southwest. These Indians are generally 
the most degraded of their tribe — outcasts, who, for 



168 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

crime or dissipation, are no longer allowed to associate 
with their people ; they live by hunting or stealing, and 
spend, in the towns, their precarious gains in intoxica- 
tion. 

Among the throng that crowded on the flat-boat on 
his arrival, were a number of these unfortunate beings ; 
they were influenced by no other motive than that 
of loitering round in idle speculation at what was 
going on. 

Mike was attracted towards them at sight ; and as 
he was idle, and consequently in the situation that is 
deemed most favorable to mischief, it struck him that it 
was a good opportunity to have a little sport at the In- 
dians' expense. 

Without ceremony, he gave a terrific war-whoop ; 
and then mixing the language of the aborigines and his 
own together, he went on savage fashion, and bragged of 
his triumphs and victories on the war-path, with all the 
seeming earnestness of a real '' brave." Nor were taunt- 
ing words spared to exasperate the poor creatures, who, 
while perfectly helpless, listened to the tales of their own 
greatness, and their own shame, until wound up to the 
highest pitch of impotent exasperation. Mike's com- 
panions joined in ; thoughtless boys caught the spirit of 
the aflair ; and the Indians were goaded until they, in 
turn, made battle with their tongues. 

Then commenced a system of running against them, 
pulling off their blankets, joined with a thousand other 



MIKE FINK, THE KEEL-BOAT.MAN. 169 

indignities : finally the Indians made a precipitate re- 
treat ashore, amid the hooting and jeering of a thought- 
less crowd which considered them as poor devils, desti- 
tute of both feeling and humanity. 

Among this band of outcasts was a Cherokee, who 
bore the name of Proud Joe ; what his real cognomen 
was, no one knew, for he was taciturn, haughty — and, in 
spite of his poverty and his manner of life, won the name 
we have mentioned. His face was expressive of talent, 
but it was furrowed by the most terrible habits of 
drunkenness. That he was a superior Indian was ad- 
mitted : and it was also understood that he was banish- 
ed from his mountain home, his tribe being then numer- 
ous and powerful, for some great crime. He was always 
looked up to by his companions, and managed, however 
intoxicated he might be, to sustain a singularly proud 
bearing, which did not even depart from him while pros- 
trate on the ground, 

Joe was careless of his person and habits — in this 
respect he was behind his fellows ; but one ornament of 
his, was attended to with a care which would have done 
honor to him if still surrounded by his people, and amid 
his native woods. Joe still wore, with Indian dignity, 
his scalplock ; he ornamented it with taste, and cherished 
it, as report said, until some Indian messenger of ven- 
geance should tear it from his head, as expiatory of his 
numerous crimes. Mike had noticed this peculiarity ; 
and, reaching out his hand, plucked from the revered 
scnlplock a hawk's feather. 8 



170 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

The Indian glared horribly on Mike as he consum- 
mated the insult, snatched the feather from his hand, 
then shaking his clenched fist in the air, as if calling on 
Heaven for revenge, retreated with his friends. 

Mike saw that he had roused the soul of the savage, 
and he marvelled wonderfully that so much resentment 
should be exhibited; and as an earnest to Proud Joe 
that the wrong he had done him should not rest unre- 
venged, he swore that he would cut the scalplock off 
close to his head, the first convenient opportunity, and 
then he thought no more about it. 

The morning following the arrival of the boat at 
Louisville was occupied in making preparations to pur- 
sue the voyage down the river. Nearly every thing 
was completed, and Mike had taken his favorite place 
at the sweep, when, looking up the river bank, he beheld 
at some distance Joe and his companions, and perceived, 
from their gesticulations, that they were making him the 
subject of conversation. 

Mike thought instantly of several ways m which he 
could show them altogether, a fair fight, and then whip 
them with ease; he also reflected with what extreme 
satisfaction he would enter into the spirit of the arrange- 
ment, and other matters to him equally pleasing — when 
all the Indians disappeared, save Joe himself, who 
stood at times viewing Mike in moody silence, and then 
staring round at passing objects. 

From the peculiarity of Joe's position to Mike, who 



MIKE FINK, THE KEEL-BOATMAN. 17 1 

was below him, his head and the upper part of his body 
were relieved boldly against the sky, and in one of his 
movements, he brought his profile face to view. The 
prominent scalp-lock and its adornments seemed to be 
more striking than ever, and again roused the pugnacity 
of Mike* Fink ; in an instant he raised his rifle, always 
loaded and at command, brought it to his eye, and, be- 
fore he could be prevented, drew sight upon Proud Joe, 
and fired. The ball whistled loud and shrill, and Joe, 
springing his whole length into the air, fell upon the 
ground. 

The cold-blooded murder was noticed by fifty per- 
sons at least, and there arose from the crowd a univer- 
sal cry of horror and indignation at the bloody deed, 
Mike, himself, seemed to be much astonished, and in an 
instant reloaded his rifle, and as a number of white per- 
sons rushed towards the boat, Mike threw aside his coat, 
and, taking his powder-horn between his teeth, leaped, 
rifle in hand, into the Ohio, and commenced swimming 
for the opposite shore. 

Some bold spirits determined that Mike should not 
so easily escape, and jumping into the only skifi" at com- 
mand, pulled swiftly after him. Mike watched their 
movements until they came within a hundred yards of 
him, then turning in the water, he supported himself by 
his feet alone, and raised his deadly rifle to his eye. 
Its muzzle, if it spoke hostilely, was as certain to send 
a messenger of death through one or more of his pursu- 



172 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

ers, as if it were lightning, and they knew it; they 
dropped their oars, and silently returned to the shore. 
Mike waved his hand towards the little village of Louis- 
ville, and again pursued his way. 

The time consumed by the firing of Mike's rifle, the 
pursuit, and the abandonment of it, required less time 
than we have taken to give the details ; and in that time, 
to the astonishment of the gaping crowd around Joe, 
they saw him rising with a bewildered air ; a moment 
more — he recovered his senses and stood up — at his 
feet lay his scalp-lock ! 

The ball had cut it clear from his head ; the cord 
around the root, in which were placed feathers and other 
ornaments, still held it together ; the concussion had 
merely stunned its owner ; farther — he had escaped all 
bodily harm ! A cry of exultation rose at the last evi- 
dence of the skill of Mike Fink — the exhibition of a 
shot that established his claim, indisputably, to the emi- 
nence he ever afterwards held — that of the unrivalled 
marksman of all the flatboatraen of the western waters. 

Proud Joe had received many insults. He looked 
upon himself as a degraded, worthless being — and the 
ignominy heaped upon him he never, except by reply, 
resented ; but this last insult was like seizing the lion 
by the mane, or a Roman senator by the beard — it 
roused the slumbering demon within, and made him 
again thirst to resent his wrongs, with an intensity of 
emotion that can only be felt by an Indian. His eye 



MIKE FINK, THE KEEL-BOATMAN. 173 

glared upon the jeering crowd like a fiend ; bis chest 
swelled and heaved until it seemed that he must suffo- 
cate. 

No one noticed this emotion. All were intent upon 
the exploit that had so singularly deprived Joe of his 
war-lock ; and, smothering his wrath, he retreated to 
his associates with a consuming fire at his vitals. He 
was a difi'erent being from what he had been an hour be- 
fore ; and with that desperate resolution on which a 
man stakes his all, he swore, by the Great Spirit of his 
forefathers, that he would be revenged. 

An hour after the disappearance of Joe, both he and 
Mike Fink were forgotten. The flatboat, which the 
latter had deserted, was got under way, and dashing 
through the rapids in the river opposite Louisville, 
wended on its course. As is customary when night sets 
in, the boat was securely fastened in some little bend or 
bay in the shore, where it remained until early morn. 

Long before the sun had fairly risen, the boat was 
again pushed into the stream, and it passed through a 
valley presenting the greatest possible beauty and fresh- 
ness of landscape that the mind can conceive. 

It was spring, and a thousand tints of green devel- 
oped themselves in the half-formed foliage and bursting 
buds. The beautiful mallard skimmed across the water, 
ignorant of the danger of the white man's approach ; 
the splendid spoon-bill decked the shallow places near 
the shore, vs^hile myriads of singing birds filled the air 
with their unwritten songs. 



174 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

In the far reaches down the river, there occasionally 
might be seen a bear stepping along the ground as if 
dainty of its feet ; and, snuffing the intruder on his wild 
home, he would retreat into the woods. 

To enliven all this, and give the picture the look 
of humanity, there was also seen, struggling with the 
floating mists, a column of blue smoke, which came from 
a fire built on a projecting point of land, around which 
the current swept rapidly, hurrying past every thing 
that floated on the river. The eye of the boatmen saw 
the advantage which the situation of the place rendered 
to those on shore, to annoy and attack ; and as wandering 
Indians, even in those days, did not hesitate to rob, there 
was much speculation as to what reception the boat 
would receive from the builders of the fire. 

The rifles were all loaded, to be prepared for any 
kind of reception, and the loss of Mike Fink was la- 
mented, as the prospect of a fight presented itself, where 
he could use with effect his terrible rifle. The boat in 
the mean time swept round the point ; but instead of an 
enemy, there lay, in a profound sleep, Mike Fink, with 
his feet toasting at the fire, his pillow was a huge bear 
that had been shot on the day previous, while, scattered 
in profusion around him, were several deer and wild 
turkeys. 

Mike had not been idle. After selecting a place 
most eligible for noticing the passing boat, he had spent 
his time in hunting, — and was surrounded by trophies 



MIKE FINK, THE KEEL-BOATMAN. 175 



of his prowess. The scene that he presented was worthy 
of the time and the man, and would have thrown Land- 
seer into a delirium of joy, could he have witnessed it. 
The boat, owing to the swiftness of the current, passed 
Mike's resting-place, although it was pulled strongly to 
the shore. As Mike's companions came opposite to 
him, they raised a shout, half exultation at meeting 
him, and half to alarm him with the idea that Joe's 
friends were upon him. Mike, at the sound, sprang to 
his feet, rifle in hand, and as he looked around, he 
raised it to his eyes, and by the time that he discovered 
the boat, he was ready to fire. 

" Down with your shooting-iron, you wild critter," 
shouted one of the boatmen. 

Mike dropped the piece, and gave a loud halloo, which 
echoed among the solitudes like a piece of artillery. 
The meeting between Mike and his fellows was charac- 
teristic. They joked, and jibed him with their rough 
wit, and he parried it off with a most creditable inge- 
nuity. Mike soon learned the extent of his rifle-shot — 
but he seemed perfectly indifferent to the fact that 
Proud Joe was not dead. 

The only sentiment he uttered, was regret that he 
did not fire at the vagabond's head, for if he hadn't hit 
it, why, he said that he would have made the first bad 
shot in twenty years. The dead game was carried on 
board of the boat, the adventure was forgotten, and 
every thing resumed the monotony of floating in a flat- 
boat down the Ohio. 



176 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

A montli or more elapsed, and Mike liad progressed 
several hundred miles down tlie Mississippi ; his journey 
had been remarkably free from incident ; morning, noon, 
and night, presented the same banks, the same muddy 
water, and he sighed to see some broken land, some high 
hills, and he railed and swore, that he should have been 
such a fool as to desert his favorite Ohio for a river that 
produced nothing but alligators ; and was never, at best, 
half finished. 

Occasionally, the plentifulness of game put him in 
spirits, but it did not last long ; he wanted more lasting 
excitement, and declared himself as perfectly miserable 
and helpless, as a wild-cat without teeth or claws. 

In the vicinity of Natchez rise a few abrupt hills, 
which tower above the surrounding lowlands of the Mis- 
sissippi like monuments ; they are not high, but from 
their loneliness and rarity, they create sensations of 
pleasure and awe. 

Under the shadow of one of these bluffs, Mike and 
his associates made the customary preparations for pass- 
ing the night. Mike's enthusiasm knew no bounds at 
the sight of land again ; he said it was as pleasant as 
" cold water to a fresh wound ;" and, as his spirits rose, 
he went on making the region round about, according to 
his notions, an agreeable residence. 

" The Choctaws live in these diggins," said Mike, 
" and a cursed time they must have of it. Now if I 
lived in these parts I'd declare war on 'em just to have 



MIKE FINK, THE KEEL-BOATMAN. 177 

something to keep me from growing dull ; without some 
such business I'd be as musty as an old swamp moccason 
snake. I would build a cabin on that ar hill yonder, and 
could, from its location, with my rifle, repulse a whole 
tribe, if they dar'd to come after me. 

" What a beautiful time I'd have of it ! I never was 
particular about what's called a fair fight ; I just ask 
half a chance, and the odds against me, — and if I then 
don't keep clear of snags and. sawyers, let me spring 
a leak and go to the bottom. It's natur that the big fish 
should eat the little ones. I've seen trout swallow a 
perch, and a cat would come along and swallow the 
trout, and perhaps, on the Mississippi, the alligators use 
up the cat, and so on to the end of the row. 

" "Well, I will walk tall into varmint and Indian ; it's 
a way I've got, and it comes as natural as grinning to a 
hyena. I'm a regular tornado — tough as a hickory — 
and long-winded as a nor'-wester. I can strike a blow 
like a falling tree — and every lick makes a gap in the 
crowd that lets in an acre of sunshine. Whew, boys ! " 
shouted Mike, twirling his rifle like a walking-stick 
around his head, at the ideas suggested in his mind. 
" Whew, boys ! if the Choctaw divils in them ar woods 
thar would give us a brush, just as I feel now, I'd call 
them gentlemen. I must fight something, or I'll catch 
the dry rot — burnt brandy won't save me." 

Such were some of the expressions which Mike gave 
utterance to, and in which his companions heartily 

8* 



178 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

joined ; but they never presumed to be quite equal to 
Mike, — for his bodily prowess, as well as his rifle, were 
acknowledged to be unsurpassed. These displays of 
animal spirits generally ended in boxing and wrestling- 
matches, in which falls were received, and blows struck 
without being noticed, that would have destroyed com- 
mon men. 

Occasionally, angry words and blows were exchanged, 
but, like the summer storm, the cloud that emitted the 
lightning also purified the air ; and when the commotion 
ceased, the combatants immediately made friends, and 
became more attached to each other than before the 
cause that interrupted the good feelings occurred. 
Such were the conversation and amusements of the 
evening when the boat was moored under the bluffs we 
have alluded to. 

As night wore on, one by one, the hardy boatmen 
fell asleep, some in its confined interior, and others, pro- 
tected by a light covering in the open air. 

The moon arose in beautiful majesty; her silver 
light, behind the highlands, gave them a power and 
theatrical efi"ect as it ascended ; and as its silver rays 
grew perpendicular, they kissed gently the summit of 
the hills, and poured down their full light upon the 
boat, with almost noonday brilliancy. The silence with 
which the beautiful changes of darkness and light were 
produced, made it mysterious. It seemed as if some 
creative power was at work, bringing form and life out 
of darkness. 



MIKE FINK, THE KEEL-BOATMAN. 179 

But in the midst of the witchery of this quiet scene, 
there sounded forth the terrible rifle, and the more 
terrible war-whoop of the Indian. One of the boat- 
men, asleep on deck, gave a stifled groan, turned upon 
his face, and with a quivering motion, ceased to live. 

Not so with his companions— they in an instant, as 
men accustomed to danger and sudden attacks, sprang 
ready-armed to their feet ; but before they could dis- 
cover their foes, seven sleek and horribly painted sav- 
ages, leaped from the hill into the boat. The firing of 
the rifle was useless, and each man singled out a foe, and 
met him with the drawn knife. 

The struggle was quick and fearful ; and deadly 
blows were given, amid screams and imprecations that 
rent the air. Yet the voice of Mike Fink could be 
heard in encouraging shouts above the clamor. 

" Give it to them, boys ! " he cried, '' cut their hearts 
out ! choke the dogs ! Here's h-11 a-fire and the river 
rising ! " Then clenching with the most powerful of the 
assailants, he rolled with him upon the deck of the boat. 
Powerful as Mike was, the Indian seemed nearly a 
match for him. The two twisted and writhed like ser- 
pents,— now one seeming to have the advantage, and 
then the other. 

In all this confusion there might occasionally be 
seen glancing in the moonlight the blade of a knife ; but 
at whom the thrusts were made, or who wielded it, could 
not be discovered. 



180 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

The general fight lasted less time than we have taken 
to describe it. The white men gained the advantage ; 
two of the Indians lay dead upon the boat, and the liv- 
ing, escaping from their antagonists, leaped ashore, and 
before the rifle could be brought to bear, they were out 
of its reach. 

While Mike was yet struggling with his adversary, 
one of his companions cut the boat loose from the shore, 
and, with powerful exertion, managed to get its bows so 
far into the current, that it swung round and floated ; 
but before this was accomplished, and before any one 
interfered with Mike, he was on his feet, covered with 
blood, and blowing like a porpoise : by the time that he 
could get his breath, he commenced talking. 

" Ain't been so busy in a long time," said he, turn- 
ing over his victim with his foot ; " that fellow fou't 
beautiful ; if he's a specimen of the Choctaws that live 
in these parts, they are screamers ; the infernal sar- 
pents ! the d d possums ! " 

Talking in this way, he with others, took a general 
survey of the killed and wounded. Mike himself was 
a good deal cut up with the Indian's knife ; but he called 
his wounds — blackberry scratches. One of Mike's asso- 
ciates was severely hurt ; the rest escaped comparatively 
harmless. The sacrifice was made at the first fire ; for 
beside the dead Indians, there lay one of the boat's 
crew, cold and dead, his body perforated with four dif- 
ferent balls. That he was the chief object of attack 



MIKE FINK, THE KEEL-BOATMAN. 181 

seemed evident, yet no one of his associates knew of his 

ever having had a single fight with the Indians. 

The soul of Mike was affected, and, taking the hand 

of his deceased comrade between his own, he raised his 

« 

bloody knife towards the bright moon, and swore that 
he would desolate " the nation " of the Indians who 
made war upon them that night ; and turning to his stiff- 
ened victim, which still retained the expression of im- 
placable hatred and defiance, he gave it a smile of grim 
satisfaction, and then joined in the general conversation 
which the occurrences of the night would naturally sug- 
gest. 

The master of the " broad horn " was a business 
man, and had often been down the Mississippi. This 
was the first attack he had received, or knew to have 
been made from the shores inhabited by the Choctaws, 
except by the white man ; and he suggested the keeping 
the dead Indians until daylight, that they might have an 
opportunity to examine their dress and features, and see 
with certainty, who were to blame for the occurrences of 
the night. 

The dead boatman was removed with care to a re- 
spectful distance ; and the living, except the person at 
the sweep of the boat, were soon buried in profound 
slumber. 

Not until after the rude breakfast was partaken of, 
and the funeral rites of the dead boatman were solemnly 
performed, did Mike and his companions disturb the 
corses of the red men. 



182 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

Mike went about his business with alacrity. He 
stripped the bloody blanket from the Indian he had 
killed, as if it enveloped something requiring no respect. 
He examined carefully the moccasons on the Indian's 
feet, pronouncing them at one time Chickasas — at an- 
other time, Shawnese. He stared at the livid face, but 
could not recognize the style of paint. 

That the Indians were not strictly national in their 
adornments, was certain, for they were examined by 
practised eyes, that could have told the nation of the 
dead, if such had been the case, as readily as a sailor 
distinguishes a ship by its flag. Mike was evidently 
puzzled ; and as he was about giving up his task as 
hopeless, the dead body he was examining was turned 
upon its side. Mike's eyes distended, as some of his 
companions observed, " like a choked cat's," and became 
riveted. 

He drew himself up in a half serious, and half comic 
expression, and pointing at the back of the dead In- 
dian's head, there was exhibited a dead warrior in his 
paint, destitute of his scalp-lock — the small stump which 
was only left, being stiffened with red paint. Those 
who could read Indian symbols learned a volume of 
deadly resolve in what they saw. The body of Proud 
Joe, was stiff and cold before them. 

The last and best shot of Mike Fink had cost a brave 
man his life. The boatman so lately interred was evi- 
dently taken in the moonlight by Proud Joe and his 



MIKE FINK, THE KEEL-BOATMAN. 183 

party for Mike Fink, and they had risked their lives, 
one and all, that he might with certainty be sacrificed. 

Nearly a thousand miles of swamp had been thread- 
ed, large and swift running rivers had been crossed, 
hostile tribes passed through by Joe and his friends, 
that they might revenge the fearful insult of destroy- 
ing, without the life, the sacred scalp-lock. 



ALLIGATOR KILLING. 

In the dark recesses of the loneliest swamps — in those 
dismal abodes where production and decay run riot- 
where the serpent crawls from his den among the tan- 
gled ferns and luxuriant grass, and hisses forth, unmo- 
lested, his propensities to destroy — where the toad and 
lizard spend the livelong day in their melancholy chirp- 
ings — where the stagnant pool festers and ferments, and 
bubbles up its foul miasma — where the fungi seem to 
grow beneath your gaze — where the unclean birds retire 
after their repast, and sit and stare with dull eyes in 
vacancy for hours and days together ; — there originates 
the alligator ; there, if happy in his history, he lives 
and dies. 

But, alas ! the pioneer of the forest invades his home 
— the axe lets in the sunshine upon his hiding-places : — 
and he frequently finds himself, like the Indian, sur- 
rounded by the encroachments of civilization, a mere 



ALLIGATOR KILLING. 185 

intruder, in liis original domain — and under such cir- 
cumstances only, does he become an object of rough 
sport, the incidents of which deserve a passing notice. 
The extreme southern portions of the United States 
are exceedingly favorable to the growth of the alligator : 
in the swamps that stretch over a vast extent of coun- 
try, inaccessible almost to man, they increase in num- 
bers and size, live undisputed monarchs of their abodes, 
exhibiting but little more intelligence, and exerting but 
little more volition than decayed trunks of trees, for 
which they are not unfrequently mistaken. 

In these swampy regions, however, are found high 
ridges of land inviting cultivation. The log cabin takes 
the place of the rank vegetation — the evidences of thrift 
appear — and as the running streams display themselves, 
and are cleared for navigation, that old settler, the alli- 
gator, becomes exposed, and falls a victim to the rapa- 
city of man. 

Thus hunted — like creatures of higher organization, 
he grows more intelligent, from the dangers of his situ- 
ation ; his instincts become more subtle, and he wars in 
turn upon his only enemy ; soon acquires a civilized taste 
for pork and poultry, and acquires also a very uncivil- 
ized one for dogs. 

An alligator, in the truly savage state, is a very 
happy reptile : encased in an armor as impenetrable as 
that of Ajax, he moves about, unharmed by surround- 
ing circumstances. 



186 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

The fangs of the rattlesnake grate over his scales 
as they would over a file ; the constrictor finds nothing 
about him to crush ; the poisonous moccason bites at 
him in vain ; and the greatest pest of all, the mosquito, 
which fills the air of his abode with a million stings, that 
burn the flesh of other living things like sparks of fire, 
buzz out their fury upon his carcass in vain. 

To say that he enjoys not these advantages — that 
he crawls not forth as a proud knight in his armor — 
that he treads not upon the land as a master — and 
moves in the water the same — would be doing injustice 
to his actions, and his habits, and the philosophical ex- 
ample of independence which he sets to the trembling 
victims daily sacrificed to his wants. 

The character of an alligator's face is far from being 
a flattering letter of recommendation. The mouth is 
enormously large, and extends from the extreme tip of 
the nose backwards until it passes the ears ; indeed, 
about one third of the whole animal is mouth, which, 
being ornamented with superabundant rows of white 
teeth, gives the same hope of getting out of it, sound in 
body and mind, if once in, as does the hopper of a bark- 
mill. Its body is short and round, not unlike that of a 
horse ; its tail is very long, and flattened at the end like 
an oar. It has the most dexterous use of this appen- 
dage, which propels it along swiftly in the water, and on 
land answers the purpose of a weapon of defence. 

The traveller through the lonely swamp at nightfall 



ALLIGATOR KILLING. 187 

often finds himself surrounded by these singular crea- 
tures, and if he be unaccustomed to their presence and 
habits, they cause great alarm. Scattered about in 
every direction, yet hidden by the darkness, he hears 
their huge jaws open and shut with a force that makes 
a noise, when numbers are congregated, like echoing 
thunder. 

Again, in the glare of the camp fire will sometimes 
be seen the huge alligator crawling within the lighted 
circle, attracted by the smell of food — perchance you 
have squatted upon a nest of eggs, encased with great 
judgment in the centre of some high ground you your- 
self have chosen to pass the night upon. 

Many there are who go unconcernedly to sleep with 
such intruders in their immediate vicinity ; but a rifle 
ball, effectively fired, will most certainly leave you un- 
molested, while the alligator, in its agonies of death, no 
doubt takes comfort in the thought, that the sun will 
hatch out its eggs, and that there will grow up a nume- 
rous brood of young, as hideous and destructive as 
itself. 

The alligator is a luxurious animal, fond of all the 
comforts of life, which are, according to its habits, plen- 
tifully scattered around it. We have watched them, en- 
joying their evening nap in the shades of tangled vine, 
and in the hollow trunk of the cypress, or floating like a 
log on the top of some sluggish pool. 

We have seen them sporting in the green slime, and 



188 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

watching, like a dainty gourmand, the fattest frogs and 
longest snakes ; but they are in the height of their glo- 
ry, stretched out upon the sand-bar in the meridian sun, 
when the summer heats pour down and radiate back 
from the parched sand, as tangibly as they would from 
red-hot iron. In such places will they bask, and blow 
ofi", with a loud noise, the inflated air and water which 
expands within them, occasionally rolling about their 
swinish eyes with a slowness of motion, which, while it 
expresses the most perfect satisfaction, is in no way cal- 
culated to agitate their nerves, or discompose them, by 
too suddenly taking the impression of outward objects. 

"While thus disposed, and after the first nap is taken, 
they amuse themselves with opening their huge jaws to 
their widest extent, upon the inside of which, instinct- 
ively settle, thousands of mosquitoes and other noxious 
insects which infest the abode of the alligator. When 
the inside of the mouth is thus covered, the reptile brings 
his jaws together with inconceivable velocity, gives a 
gulp or two, and again sets his formidable trap for this 
small game. 

Some years since, a gentleman in the southern part 
of Louisiana, on " opening a plantation," found, after 
most of the forest trees had been cleared off, that in the 
centre of his land was a boggy piece of low soil, nearly 
twenty acres in extent. This place was singularly infest- 
ed with alligators. Among the first victims that fell a prey 
to their rapacity, were a number of hogs and fine poultry ; 



ALLIGATOR KILLLNG. 189 

next followed, nearly all of a pack of fine deer hounds. 
It may be easily imagined that the last outrage was not 
passed over with indifi"erence. The leisure time of every 
day was devoted to their extermination, until the cold 
of winter rendered them torpid, and buried them up in 
the earth. 

The following summer, as is naturally the case, the 
swamp, from the intense heat, contracted in its dimen- 
sions ; a number of artificial ditches drained off the 
water, and left the alligators little else to live in than mud, 
which was about the consistency of good mortar : still 
the alligators clung with singular tenacity to their na- 
tive homesteads, as if perfectly conscious that the com- 
ing fall would bring them rain. While thus exposed, 
a general attack was planned and carried into execution, 
and nearly every alligator was destroyed. It was a fear- 
ful and disgusting sight to see them rolling about in the 
thick sediment, striking their immense jaws together in 
the agony of death. 

Dreadful to relate, the stench of these decaying bo- 
dies in the hot sun, soon produced an unthought-of evil. 
Teams of oxen were used in vain to haul them away ; 
the progress of corruption under the influence of a tro- 
pical climate made the attempt fruitless. 

On the very edge of the swamp, with nothing ex- 
posed but the head, lay one huge monster, evidently six- 
teen or eighteen feet long ; he had been wounded in the 
melee, and made incapable of moving, and the heat had 



190 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

actually baked the earth around his body as firmly as 
if he was imbedded in cement. It was a cruel and sin- 
gular exhibition to see so much power and destructive- 
ness so helpless. 

We amused ourselves in throwing various things 
into his great cavernous mouth, which he would grind 
up between his teeth. Seizing a large oak rail, we at- 
tempted to run it down his throat, but it was impossi- 
ble ; for he held it for a moment as firmly as if it had 
been the bow of a ship, then with his jaws crushed and 
ground it to fine splinters. 

The old fellow, however, had his revenge ; the dead 
alligators were found more destructive than the living 
ones, and the plantation for a season had to be aban- 
doned. 

In shooting the alligator, the bullet must hit just in 
front of the fore legs, where the skin is most vulnerable ; 
it seldom penetrates in other parts of the body. 

Certainty of aim, therefore, tells in alligator shoot- 
ing, as it does in every thing else connected with 
sporting. 

Generally, the alligator, when wounded, retreats to 
some obscure place ; but if wounded in a bayou, where 
the banks are steep, and not aff"ording any hiding-places, 
he makes considerable amusement in his convolutions in 
the water, and in his efi"orts to avoid the pain of his 
smarting wounds. 

In shooting, the instant that you fire, the reptile 



ALLIGATOR KILLING. 191 

disappears, and you are for a few moments unable to 
learn the extent of injury you have inflicted. 

An excellent shot, who sent the load with almost 
unerring certainty through the eye, made one at a huge 
alligator, and, as usual, he disappeared, but almost in- 
stantly rose again, spouting water from his nose, not 
unlike a whale. A second ball, shot in his tail, sent 
him down again, but he instantly rose and spouted : 
this singular conduct prompted a bit of provocation, in 
the way of a plentiful sprinkling of bits of wood, rattled 
against his hide. The alligator lashed himself into a 
fury ; the blood started from his mouth ; he beat the 
water with his tail until he covered himself with spray, 
but never sunk without instantly rising again. 

In the course of the day he died and floated ashore ; 
and, on examination, it was found that the little valve 
with which nature has provided the reptile, to close over 
its nostrils when under water, had been cut off by the 
first shot, and he was thus compelled to stay on the top 
of the water to keep from being drowned. 

We have heard of many since who have tried thus to 
wound them, and although they have been hit in the 
nose, yet they have been so crippled as to sink and die. 

The alligator, when inhabiting places near planta- 
tions, is particularly destructive on pigs and dogs, and 
if you wish to shoot them, you can never fail to draw 
them on the surface of the water, if you will make a dog 
yell, or a pig squeal ; and that too, in places where you 



192 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

may have been fishing all day, without suspecting their 
presence. 

Herodotus mentions the catching of crocodiles in 
the Nile, by baiting a hook with flesh, and then attract- 
ing the reptile towards it by making a hog squeal. 

The ancient Egyptian manner of killing the croco- 
dile is different from that of the present day, as powder 
and ball have changed the manner of destruction ; but 
the fondness for pigs in the crocodile and alligator, 
for more than two thousand years, remains the same. 



BUFFALO HUNTINa. 

The buffalo is decidedly one of the noblest victims that 
is sacrificed to the ardor of the sportsman. There is a 
massiveness about his form, and a magnificence associ- 
ated with his home, that give him a peculiar interest. 

No part of North America was originally unoccupied 
by the buffalo. The places where now are cities and 
towns, are remembered as their haunts ; but they have 
kept with melancholy strides before the " march of civil- 
ization," and now find a home, daily more exposed and 
invaded, only on that division of our continent west of 
the Mississippi. 

But in the immense wilds that give birth to the 
waters of the Missouri — on the vast prairies that 
stretch out like inland seas between the " great lakes " 
and the Pacific, and extend towards the tropics until 
they touch the foot of the Cordilleras, the buffalo roams 
still wild and free. 

But the day of his glory is past. The Anglo-Saxon, 
9 



194 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

more wanton of place than the savage himself, possessed 
of invincible courage and unlimited resources, and feel- 
ing adventure a part of life itself, has already penetrated 
the remotest fastnesses, and wandered over the most ex- 
tended plains. Where the live lightning leaps from 
rock to rock, opening yawning caverns to the dilating 
eye, or spends its fury upon the desert, making it a 
sheet of fire, there have been His footsteps ; and there 
has the buffalo smarted beneath his prowess, and kissed 
the earth. 

The child of fortune from the " old world," the fa- 
vorite of courts, has abandoned his home and affectations, 
and sought, among these western wilds, the enjoyment 
of nature in her own loveliness. The American hunter 
frolics over them as a boy enjoying his Saturday sport. 
The Indian — like his fathers, ever restless — scours the 
mountain and the plain ; and men of whatever condition 
here meet equal^ as sjoortsmen ; and their great feats of 
honor and of arms, are at the sacrifice of the buffalo. 

In their appearance, the buffalos present a singular 
mixture of the ferocious and comical. At a first glance 
they excite mirth ; they appear to be the sleek-blooded 
kine, so familiar to the farmyard, but muffled about the 
shoulders in a coarse shawl, and wearing a mask and 
beard, as if in some outlandish disguise. 

Their motions, too, are novel. They dash off, tail 
up, shaking their great woolly heads, and planting their 
feet under them, with a swinging gait and grotesque pre 



BUFFALO HUNTING. 195 

cision, that suggests the notion that they are a jolly set 
of dare-devils, fond of fun and extravagances, and dis- 
posed to have their jokes at the expense of all dignity 
of carriage, and the good opinion of the grave portion of 
the world. 

But, upon nearer examination, you quail before the 
deep destructive instinct expressed in the eye ; the shaggy 
mane distends, and shows the working of muscles fairly 
radiant with power ; the fore foot dashes into and fur- 
rows the hard turf ; the tail waves in angry curves ; the 
eyeballs fill with blood, and with bellowing noise that 
echoes like the thunder, the white foam covers the 
shaggy jaws. Then the huge form before you grows 
into a mountain, then is exhibited an animal sublimity, 
a world of appetite without thought, and force without 
reason. 

Standing on one of the immense prairies of the 
" south-west," you look out upon what seems to be the 
green waving swell of the sea, suddenly congealed — and 
it requires but little fancy to imagine, when the storm- 
cloud sweeps over it, and the rain dashes in torrents, 
and the fierce winds bear down upon it, that the magic 
that holds it immovable, may be broken, and leave you 
helpless on the billowy wave. 

On such an expanse, sublime from its immensity, 
roams the bufi"alo, in numbers commensurate with the 
extent, and not unfrequently covering the landscape, 
until their diminishing forms mingle in the opposite 



196 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

horizons, like mocking spectres. Such is the arena of 
sport, and such in quantity, is the game. 

To the wild Indian, the buffalo hunt awakens the 
soul as absorbingly as does the defying yell on the war- 
path. With inflated nostril and distended eye, he 
dashes after his victim, revelling in the fruition of all 
the best hopes of his existence, and growing in the con- 
ceit of his favor with the " Great Spirit." 

To the rude, white hunter, less imaginative than the 
savage ; the buffalo hunt is the high consummation of his 
propensity and power to destroy. It gratifies his am- 
bition, and feasts his appetite ; his work is tangible ; 
he feels — hears — tastes — and sees it ; it is the very un- 
loosing of all the rough passions of our nature, with the 
conscience entirely at rest. 

To the " sportsman," who is matured in the con- 
straint of cities, and in the artificial modes of enlighten- 
ed society, and who retains within his bosom the leaven 
of our coarser nature, the bufialo hunt stirs up the la- 
tent fires repressed by a whole life ; they break out with 
ardor, and he enters into the chase with an abandonment, 
which, while it gratifies every animal sense possessed by 
the savage and hunter, opens a thousand other avenues 
of high enjoyment, known only to the cultivated and re- 
fined mind. 

Among the Indians there are but few methods of 
hunting the bufialo ; yet there are tribes who display 
more skill than others, and seem to bring more intellect 



BUFFALO HUNTING. 197 

to bear in the sport. The Comanches in the south, and 
the Sioux in the north, are, from their numbers, warlike 
character, and wealth, by the aborigines, considered as 
the true buffalo hunters. 

The Comanches inhabit one of the loveliest countries 
in the world for a winter home — but when the heats of 
summer drive them northward, they travel over the 
loveliest herbage, variegated by a thousand perfumed 
flowers, that yield fragrance under every crush of the 
foot. The wide savannas, that are washed by the 
Trinity and Brasos rivers, are every where variegated 
with clumps of live-oak trees, among which you involun- 
tarily look for the mansion of some feudal lord. 

Here are realized almost the wildest dreams of the 
future to the red men ; and here the Comanches, strong 
in numbers, and rich in the spontaneous productions of 
their native land, walk proud masters, and exhibit sav- 
age life in some of the illusive charms we throw around 
it while bringing a refined imagination to view such life 
in the distance. 

Thousands of this tribe of Indians will sometimes be 
engaged at one time in a bufi'alo hunt. In their wan- 
derings about the prairies, they leave trails worn like a 
long-travelled road. Following the '^ scouts," until the 
vicinity of the animal is proclaimed, and then selecting 
a halting-place, favorable both for fuel and water, the 
ceremonies preparatory to a grand hunt take place. 

Then are commenced, with due solemnity, the 



198 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER, 

prayers of the priests. A solemn feeling pervades every 
thoughtful member of the tribe. The death-defying 
warrior, who curls his scalp-lock derisively when he 
thinks of his enemies, now bows in submission to the 
invisible presence that bestows upon the red man the 
great game he is about to destroy, and it is not until 
the fastings, prayers, and self-sacrifices are finished that 
the excitement of the chase commences. 

The morning sun greets the hunter divested of all 
unnecessary clothing, his arroios numbered — his harness 
in order — a plume floats from his crown — his long hair 
streams down his back — his well-trained horse, as wild 
as himself, anticipates the sport, and paws with impa- 
tience the ground. 

Far, far in the horizon are moving about, in black 
masses, the game ; and with an exulting whoop, a party 
start off with the wind, dash across the prairie, and are 
soon out of sight. 

The buffalo is a wary animal ; unwieldy as he ap- 
pears, his motions are quick, and, at the approach of a 
human being, he instinctively takes the alarm, and flies. 

An hour or two may elapse, when the distant masses 
of buffalo begin to move. There is evident alarm spread- 
ing through the ranks. Suddenly they fly ! 

Then it is that thousands of fleet and impatient 
horsemen, like messengers of the wind, dash off and 
meet the herds. The party first sent out are pressing 
them in the rear; confusion seizes upon the alarmed 



BUFFALO HUNTING. 199 

animals, and they scatter in every direction over the 
plain. Now the hunters select their victims, and the 
blood is up. On speeds the Indian and his horse. The 
long mane mingles with the light garments of the rider, 
and both seem instigated by the same instinct and spi- 
rit. On plunges the unwieldy object of pursuit, shaking 
his shaggy head, as if in despair of his safety. The 
speed of the horse soon overtakes the buffalo. 

The rider, dropping his rein, plucks an arrow from 
his quiver, presses his knees to the horse's sides, draws 
his bow, and with unerring aim, drives the delicate shaft 
into the vitals of the huge animal, who rushes on a few 
yards, curls his tail upwards, falters, falls on his face, 
and dies. An exulting shout announces the success, 
and the warrior starts off after another ; and if he has 
performed his task well, every boio that has twanged^ 
marks the ownership of a huge carcass upon the sea of 
the prairie, as sacredly as the waiffe of the whaleman 
his victim on the sea itself. 

Thus, when the day's sport is over, every arrow is 
returned to its owner. If two have been used to kill 
the same animal, or any are wanting, having been car- 
ried away in mere flesh wounds ; the want of skill is up- 
braided, and the unfortunate hunter shrinks from the 
sarcasms and observation of the successful, with shame. 

Following the hunter are the women, the laborers of 
the tribe. To them is allotted the task of tearing off 



200 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

the skin, selecting the choice pieces of flesh, and pre- 
serving what is not immediately consumed. 

Then follows the great feast. The Indian gluts him- 
self with marrow and fatness, his eyes, lately so bright 
with the fire of sport, are now glazed with bestiality, 
and he spends days and nights in wasteful extravagance, 
trusting to the abundance of nature to supply the wants 
of the future. 

Such are the general characteristics of the buff'alo 
hunt ; and the view applies with equal truth to all the 
different tribes who pursue, as a distinct and powerful 
people — this noble game. 

An Indian armed for the buffalo hunt, and his horse, 
form two of the most romantic and picturesque of be- 
ings. The loose garment that he wears is beautifully 
arranged about his person, disclosing the muscles of the 
shoulder and chest. Across his back is slung his quiver 
of arrows, made from the skin of some wild animal ; his 
long bow, slightly arched by the sinewy string, is used 
gracefully as a rest for his extended arm. 

The horse, with a fiery eye — a mane that waves over 
his front like drapery, and falls in rakish masses across 
his wide forehead — a sweeping tail ornamented with the 
brilliant plumage of tropical birds ; champs on his rude 
bit, and arches his neck with impatience, as the scent 
of the game reaches his senses. Frequently will these 
graceful Apollos pass before you, bounding gracefully 



BUFFALO HUNTING. 201 

along, and more than rivalling the beauty, of the eques- 
trians portrayed upon the Elgin marbles. 

Then there may be seen dashing off with incredible 
swiftness, a living representation of the centaur ; — and 
as one of these wild horses and wilder men, viewed from 
below, stand in broad relief against the clear sky, you 
see an equestrian statue that art has never equalled. 

The exultation of such a warrior, in the excitement 
of a buffalo hunt, rings in silvery tones across the plain, 
as if in his lungs was the music of a " well-chosen 
pack ; " the huge victims of pursuit, as they hear it, im- 
pel onwards with redoubled speed, — they feel that a 
hurricane of death is in the cry. 

Take a hunting-party of fifty " warriors," starting on 
a buffalo hunt. Imagine a splendid fall morning in the 
southern part of the buffalo " grounds." 

The sun rises over the prairie, like a huge illumi- 
nated ball ; it struggles on through the mists, growing 
gradually brighter in its ascent, breaking its way into 
the clear atmosphere in long-reaching rays, dispelling 
the mists in wreathing columns, and starting up cur- 
rents of air to move them sportively about ; slowly they 
a'scend and are lost in the ether above. 

You discover before you, and under you, a rich and 

beautifully variegated carpet, enamelled by a thousand 

flowers, glistening with the pearly drops of dew, as the 

horizontal rays of the sun reach them. 

Here and there are plants of higher growth, as if 
9* 



202 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

some choice garden had. been stripped of its inclosures : 
shrubbery waves the pendant blossom, and wastes a 
world of sweetness on the desert air. Among these 
flowery coverts browse the graceful deer and antelope. 

Far before you are the long dark lines of the buffalo. 
In the centre of the group feed the cows and calves. 
Upon the outside are the sturdy bulls : some with their 
mouths to the ground, are making it shake with their 
rough roar ; others sportively tear up the turf with their 
horns ^ others not less playful, rush upon each other's 
horns with a force that sends them reeling on their 
sides. 

Animal enjoyment seems rife, and as they turn their 
nostrils upwards and snuff in the balmy air and greet the 
warm sun, they little dream that around them are circ- 
ling the wild Indian, wilder — more savage — and more 
wary, than themselves. 

Fancy these Indians prompted by all the habits and 
feelings of the hunter and warrior, mingling with the sport 
the desire to distinguish themselves, as on a field of 
honor, little less only in importance than the war-path. 
With characters of high repute to sustain, or injured 
reputations to build up — of victory for the ear of love 
— of jealousy — of base passions — and a thirst of blood, 
and you will have some idea of the promptings of the 
hearts of those about to engage in the chase. 

The time arrives. The parties already out, are driv- 
ing the herd towards the starting-place of the warriors. 



BUFFALO HUNTING. 203 

They have sent up their war-cry in one united whoop, 
which has startled the feeding monsters, as if the light- 
ning had fallen among them. With a bellowing re- 
sponse the buflfalo shake their heads, and simultaneously 
start off. 

The fearful whoop meets them at every point. Con- 
fusion seizes upon the herd. The sport has begun. 

In every direction you see the unequal chase ; the 
Indians seem multiplied into hundreds ; the plain be- 
comes dotted over with the dying animals, and the whoop 
rings in continuous shouts upon the air, as if the fiends 
themselves were loose. 

Now you see a single warrior : before him is rushing 
a buffalo, which shows from his immense size, that he 
is one of the masters of the herd; his pursuer is a 
veteran hunter, known far and near for his prowess. 

Yonder go some twenty buffalos of every size, pur- 
sued by three or four tyros, who yet know not the art of 
separating their victim from the herd. 

Yonder goes a bull, twice shot at, yet only wounded 
in the flesh — some one will have to gather wood with 
the women for his want of skill. 

There goes an old chief: his leggins are trimmed 
with the hair of twenty scalps, taken from the heads of 
the very Indians on whose grounds he was hunting buf- 
falo ; he is a great warrior ; he sings, that his bow un- 
bent is a great tree, which he alone can bend. See the 
naked arm, and the rigid muscles, as he draws the arrow 



204 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

to the very head : the bull vomits blood and falls : be- 
yond him on the grass is the arrow ; it passes through, 
where a rifle ball would have stopped and flattened ere 
it had made half the journey. 

Here are two buffalo bulls side by side ; they make 
the earth tremble by their measured tread ; their sides 
are reeking with sweat. Already have they been sin- 
gled out. Approaching them are two horsemen ; upon 
the head of one glistens the silvery hair of age ; the 
small leggins also betray the old man : the other is just 
entering the prime of life ; every thing about him is 
sound, full, and sleek. The old man compresses his 
mouth into a mere line ; the eye is open and steady as a 
basilisk ; the skin inanimate. The eyes of the young- 
man dance with excitement, the blood flows quickly 
through the dark skin ; and gives a feverish look to his 
lip and cheek. What a tale is told in these differences 
of look ! how one seems reaching into the future, and 
the other going back to the past ! 

He of the flushed cheek touches his quiver, the bow 
is bent, the arrow speeds its way and penetrates its vic- 
tim. The old man — he too takes an arrow, slowly he 
places it across his bow, then bending it as if to make 
its ends meet, he leans forward— ^sends the arrow home 
— the bull falls, while the one first wounded pursues his 
way. The old man gives a taunting shout as a token 
of his success. 

The young warrior, confused by his want of skill, 



BUFFALO HUNTING. 205 

and alarmed lest his aged rival should complete the 
work he so bunglingly began, unguardedly presses too 
near the bull, who, smarting with his wound, turns upon 
his heels, and, with one mad plunge, tears out the bow- 
els of the steed, and rolls him and rider on the turf. 
He next rushes at the rider. 

The Indian, wary as the panther, springs aside, and 
the bull falls headlong on the ground. Ere the bull re- 
covers himself, the bow is again bent, the flint-headed 
arrow strikes the hard rib, splits it asunder, and enters 
the heart. 

The old warrior has looked on with glazed eye and 
expressionless face, and the young man feels that he has 
added no laurels to his brow, for an arrow has been 
spent in vain and his s!eed killed under him. 

There goes a "■ brave " with a bow by his side, and 
his right hand unoccupied. He presses his horse against 
the very sides of the animal which he is pursuing. Now 
he leans forward until he seems hidden between the buf- 
falo and his horse. He rises ; a gory arrow is in his 
hand ; he has plucked it from a " flesh wound" at full 
speed, and while in luck, has with better aim brought 
his victim to the earth. 

The sun is now fairly in its zenith : the buff"alos that 
have escaped are hurrying away, with a speed that will 
soon carry them miles beyond the hunter's pursuit. 

The Indians are coming in from the field. The 
horses breathe hard and are covered with foam. The 



206 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

faces of the Indians are still lit up with excitement, that 
will soon pass away, and leave them cold and expression- 
less. The successful hunters spare not the gibe and 
joke at the expense of the unfortunate. Slowly they 
wend their way back to " the encampment ; " their work 
is done. 

The squaws, who, like vultures, follow on in the rear, 
eagerly begin their disgusting work. The maiden is 
not among them ; slavery commences only with married 
life ; but the old, the wrinkled, the viragoes and vixens, 
tear off the skins, jerk the meat, gather together the 
marrow bones, and the humps, the tongues, and the 
paunch ; and before the sun has fairly set, they are in 
the camp with the rewards of the day's hunt. 

The plain, so beautiful in the morning, is scattered 
over with carcasses already offensive with decay; the 
grass is torn up, the flowers destroyed ; and the wolf and 
buzzard and the carrion crow are disputing for the 
loathsome meal, while their already gorged appetites 
seem bursting with repletion. 

As might be supposed, the members of a party 
of adventurers once accustomed to the luxuries of 
refined life, and who had recently for weeks slept in the 
open air, congratulated themselves when they discovered 
upon the distant horizon the signs that mark the habita- 
tion of a " squatter." A thousand recollections of the 
comforts of civilized life pressed upon us before we 
reached the abode. We speculated upon the rich treat 



BUFFALO HUNTING. 207 

of delicacies which we should enjoy, but a near inspection 
at once dispelled our illusions. 

On the confines of the buffalo hunting-grounds, had 
settled a family, consisting of a strange mixture of en- 
terprise and idleness, of ragged-looking men and homely 
women. They seemed to have all the bad habits of the 
Indians, with none of their redeeming qualities. They 
were willing to live without labor, and subsist upon the 
precarious bounties of nature. 

Located in the fine climate of Northern Texas, the 
whole year was to them little less than a continued 
spring, and the abundance of game with which they 
were surrounded afforded, what seemed to them, all the 
comforts of life. The men never exerted themselves 
except when hunger prompted, or a spent magazine 
made the acquisition of " peltries " necessary to barter 
for powder and ball. 

A more lazy, contemptible set of creatures never 
existed, and we would long since have forgotten them, 
had not our introduction to them associated itself with 
our first buffalo steak. 

A large rudely-constructed shed, boarded up on the 
northern side, was the abode. Upon close examination 
it appeared that this " shed " was the common dwelling- 
place of the " family," which consisted not only of the 
human beings, but also of horses, cows, goats, and ill- 
bred poultry. ^ 

Immediately around the caravansera, the prairie 



208 THE mVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

grass struggled for a sickly growth. As you entered it, 
you found yourself growing deeper and deeper in a 
fine dust, that had, in the course of time, been worked 
out of the soil. Some coarse blankets were suspended 
through the enclosure, as retiring rooms for the women. 
On the ground were strewn bufi"alo skins, from which 
the animal inhabitants alone kept aloof. 

We entered without seeing a human being. After 
some delay, however, a little nondescript, with a white 
sunburnt head, thrust aside the blankets, and hallooed 
out, " They ain't injuns." The mother then showed 
herself She was as far removed from feminine as pos- 
sible, and appeared as unmoved at our presence as the 
post that sustained the roof of her house. 

We asked for lodging and food ; she nodded a cold 
assent and disappeared. Not disposed to be fastidious, 
we endeavored to make ourselves as comfortable as pos- 
sible, and wait for the development of coming events. 

In the course of an hour a woman younger than the 
first made her appearance, and on hearing the detail of 
our wants, she wrinkled her soiled visage into a distort- 
ed smile, and told us that the " men " would soon be 
home with "buffalo meat," and then our wants should 
be supplied. 

Whatever might have been our disappointment at 
what we saw around us, the name of buffalo meat dis- 
pelled it all. The great era in our %ontier wanderings 
was about to commence, and with smiles from our party 



BUFFALO HUNTING. 209 

that for expression would have done credit to rival 
belles, we lounged upon the skins upon the ground. 

It is needless for us to say what were our ideas of 
the " men," soon to make their appearance. Buffalo 
hunters were, of course, tall, fine-looking fellows — active 
as cats — mounted upon wild steeds — armed with terri- 
ble rifles, and all the paraphernalia of the hunter's art. 

The Dutch angels, that figure so conspicuously on 
many a gem of art in the '' Lowlands," are certainly not 
farther removed from the beautiful creations of Milton, 
than were the buffalo hunters that we saw from the 
standard our imagination and reading had conjured up. 

Two short, ill-formed men finally appeared, whose 
bow-legs, formidable shocks of red hair, clothes of skin, 
and shufiling gaits, were the realities of our poetical 
conceptions. 

Whatever might have been the charms of their faces, 
our admiration was absorbed in viewing their nether 
garments. They were made of undressed deer-skin, the 
hair worn outside. When first made, they were, evi- 
dently of the length of pantaloons, but the drying quali- 
ties of the sun had, in course of time, no doubt imper- 
ceptibly to the wearers, shortened them into the dignity 
of breeches. To see these worthies standing up was be- 
yond comparison ridiculous. They seemed to have had 
immense pommels fastened to their knees and seats. 

Under other circumstances, the tailor craft of the 
frontier would have elicited great merriment ; but a 



210 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

Starving stomach destroys jokes. Courtesies suitable 
were exchanged, and the preliminaries for a hearty 
meal agreed upon, the basis of which was to be, buffalo 
steaks. 

A real buffalo steak ! eaten in the very grounds 
which the animal inhabits ! What romance ! what a 
diploma of a sportsman's enterprise ! 

Whatever might have been my disappointment iu 
the hunters, I knew that meat was meat, and that the 
immutable laws of nature would not fail, though my 
ideas of the romantic in men were entirely disappointed. 
A promise thai our wants should soon be supplied, 
brought us to that unpleasant time, in every-day life, 
which prefaces an expected and wished-for meal. 

Seated, like barbarians, upon the floor, myself and 
companions enjoyed the pleasing mental operation of 
calculating how little the frontier family we were visit- 
ing were worth, for any moral quality; and the physical 
exercise of keeping off, as much as possible, thousands 
of fleas, and other noxious insects, that infested the dust 
in which we sat. 

While thus disposed of, the " hunters " were busy 
in various ways about the premises, and received from 
us the elegant names of " Bags " and " Breeches," from 
some fancied or real difference in their inexpressibles. 
" Breeches," who was evidently the business man, came 
near where we were sitting, and threw down upon the 
ground, what appeared, at a superficial glance, to be an 



BUFFALO HUNTING. _ 211 

enormous pair of saddle-bags. He then asked his com- 
panion-in-arms for a knife, to cut for the strangers some 
buffalo steaks. 

Now if the nondescript before me had as coolly pro- 
posed to cut steaks from an ill-natured cur that was wist- 
fully eyeing the saddle-bags, no more surprise could 
have been exhibited by my companions than was, when 
they heard the suggestion. 

The knife was brought, and " Breeches " made an 
essay at cutting up the saddle-bags, which gave him, 
dressed as he was in skins, the appearance of a wild rob- 
ber just about to search the effects of some murdered 
traveller. The work progressed bravely, and, to our 
surprise, soon were exhibited crude slices of meat. 
What we saw were the fleshy parts of a buffalo's hams, 
ingeniously connected together by the skin that passed 
over the back of the animal, and so dissected from the 
huge frame as to enable it easily to be carried on a 
horse, and. thus brought " into camp." 

As the sounds that accompany the frying of meat 
saluted our ears, we moved into the open air, to avoid 
the certain knowledge that we were about to complete 
the eating of that peck of dirt, said to be necessary be- 
fore we die. Before the door were the two horses be- 
longing to our hosts ; just as they returned from the 
hunt, and upon one still hung huge pieces of meat, thus 
simply, and frontier-like, held together for transporta- 
tion. 



212 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

Our first bufi'alo steak disappointed us. The ro- 
mance of months — and of years — was sadly broken in 
upon. The squalid wretchedness of those who adminis- 
tered to our wants, made rebellious even our hungry 
stomachs ; and we spent our first night of real disap- 
pointment on the great prairies, under circumstances 
which we thought, before our sad experience, would 
have afforded us all the substantial food for body and 
mind that we could have desired. 



SCENES IN BUFFALO HUNTlNa. 

The morning following the adventure with the steak, 
found our little party rifles in hand, and bent upon a 
buffalo hunt. The animals, it would seem, for the es- 
pecial benefit of " Breeches " and " Bags," had come 
" lower down " than usual, and we were among the buf- 
falo much sooner than we expected to be. 

So far, fortune favored us ; and a gayer party never 
set out on a frolic, than followed the deer-skin inexpres- 
sibles on the fine December morning to which we have 
alluded. 

As we jaunted along, crushing a thousand wild 
flowers under our horses' feet, the deer would bound 
like visions of grace and beauty from our presence ; but 
we essayed not such small game. Our ideas and nos- 
trils, expanded by the associations around us ; we grew 
merry at the thought of killing bucks, turkeys, and other 
helpless J little game, and laughed so loudly, at the con- 



214 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

ceit of drawing a deadly weapon upon a thing as small 
as a woodcock, that the wild, half devil, and half Indian 
horses on which we were mounted, pricked up their ears 
and tails, as if they expected that the next salute would 
be the war-whoop and a fight. 

Ahead of us we beheld the buzzards, circling in 
groups, whirling down in aerial flights to the earth, as 
if busy with their prey. We passed them at their gross 
repast over a mountain of meat, which had, the day be- 
fore, been full of life and fire, but had fallen under the 
visitation of our guides and scarecrows ; and provided 
the very steaks that had met with so little affection from 
our appetites. Soon we discovered signs of immediate 
vicinity of the buffalo, and on a little examination from 
the top of a " swell of land," we saw them feeding off 
towards the horizon, like vast herds of cattle quietly 
grazing within the inclosure of the farm-yard. 

As distant as they were, our hearts throbbed violently 
as we contemplated the sanguinary warfare we were 
about to engage in, and the waste of life that would 
ensue. 

Still, we were impelled on by an irresistible and 
overpowering instinct to begin the hunt. 

" Breeches " and " Bags " carried over their shoulders 
poles about six feet long ; but as they were destitute of 
any visible spear, we looked upon them as inoffensive 
weapons, and concluded that they had come out just to 
act as guides. In fact, we could not imagine that such 



SCENES IN BUFFALO HUNTING. 215 

wretched-looking fellows, so badly mounted, could hunt 
any thing. 

For ourselves, we were armed with the terrible rifle : 
and so satisfied were we of its prowess, that we thought 
the' very appearance of its muzzle more deadly than the 
demonstrated use of all other weapons beside. 

Keeping to the windward of the buflfalo, we skirted 
round until we got them between us and the shed where- 
in we passed the night. 

Then the signal was given, and in a pell-mell manner 
we charged on, every man for himself We approached 
within a quarter of a mile before the herd took the 
alarm. 

Then, smelling us on the air, they turned their noses 
towards the zenith, gave a sort of rough snort, and broke 
simultaneously off at a full gallop. As soon as this 
noise was heard by our horses, they increased their 
speed, and entered into the sport as ardently as their 
riders. 

The rough beasts rode by "Bags" and "Breeches" 
did wonders, and seemed really to fly, while their riders 
poised themselves gallantly, carrying their long poles in 
front of them with a grace, from the excitement of the 
moment, that would have honored a Cossack bearing his 
spear. 

The buffalo, with their tails high in the air, ran close 
together, rattling their horns singularly loud ; while the 



216 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

horses, used to the chase, endeavored to separate a 
single object for especial pursuit. 

This once accomplished, it was easy to range along- 
side ; and in this situation the members of our party 
severally found themselves ; and drawing deadly aim', as 
they supposed, the crack of the sharp rifle was heard 
over the prairies, and yet nothing was brought to the 
ground. Contrary to all this, a noble bull lay helpless in 
the very track I took, the fruit of " Breeches' " murderous 
skill; and from the energetic manner with which he 
pressed on, we became satisfied that there was a magic 
in those sticks we had not dreamed of. 

Our curiosity excited, we ran across the diameter 
of a circle he was forming, and came by his side. Soon 
he overtook his object of pursuit, and thrusting forward 
his pole, we saw glittering, for the first time, on its end 
a short blade ; a successful thrust severed the hamstring^ 
and a mountain of flesh and life fell helpless on the 
prairie. The thing was done so suddenly, that some 
moments elapsed before we could overcome our astonish- 
ment. My horse approached the animal, and thrusting 
forward his head and ears, snorted in his face, and then 
commenced quietly cropping the grass. 

It would be impossible for me to describe my emo- 
tions as I, dismounting, examined the gigantic and 
wounded bull before me. There be lay — an animal, that 
from his singular expression of face and general appear- 
ance, joined with his immense size, looked like some an- 



SCENES IN BUFFALO HUNTING. 217 

imated specimen of the monsters of the antediluvian 
world. 

Rising on his fore legs, he shook his mane and 
beard in defiance, and flashed from his eyes an uncon- 
querable determination terrible to behold. 

Gazing upwards, we beheld, fearfully caricatured, 
the shaggy trappings of the lion, and the wild fierceness 
of a perfect savage, the whole rising above us in huge 
unwieldy proportions. He made no demonstration of 
attack, his usual expression of defiance had changed into 
that of seeming regret and heartsick pain ; his small 
bright eye roamed over the beautiful prairie, and 
watched the retreating herds of his fellows, as would 
an old patriarch when about to bid adieu to the world ; 
and as the dying creature gazed on, the tear struggled 
in his eye, rolled over the rough sunburnt hair, dashed 
like a bright jewel from his knotted beard, and fell to 
the ground. 

This exhibition of suffering nature cooled the warm 
blood of the hunt within me ; the instinct of destruction 
was, for the time, overpowered by that of better feelings, 
and could we have restored to health the wounded ani- 
mal, it would have given us a thrill of real pleasure to 
have seen him again free, and bounding over the plain. 

Instead of this, we took from our belt a pistol, called 
upon mercy to sanction our deed, and sent the cold lead 
through the thoughtful eye into the brain : the body 

sank upon its knees, in ready acknowledgment of the 
10 



218 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

power of man ; the lieavy liead plunged awkwardly to 
the ground ; a tremulous motion passed through the 
frame — and the wild monarch was dead. 

The momentary seriousness of my own feelings, oc- 
casioned by the incidents above related, was broken in 
upon by a loud exulting whoop, prolonged into a quaver- 
ing sound, such as will sometimes follow a loud blast of 
a trumpet at the mouth of an expert player. 

It was a joyous whoop, and vibrated through our 
hearts — we looked up, and saw just before us a young 
Indian warrior, mounted upon a splendid charger, and 
rushing across the plain, evidently in pursuit of the re- 
treating buffalo. 

As he swept by, he threw himself forward in his sad- 
dle, and placed his right hand over his eyes, as if to 
shade them from the sun, making a picture of the most 
graceful and eager interest. 

His horse carried his head low down, running like a 
rabbit, while the long flowing mane waved in the wind like 
silk. Horse and rider were almost equally undressed ; 
both wiry; and every muscle, as it came into action, 
gave evidence of youth and power. Qver the horse's 
head, and inwrought in the hair of the tail, streamed 
plumes plucked from the gay flamingo. Every thing 
was life — moving, dashing life — ^gay as the sunshine that 
glistens on the rippling wave where the falcon wets his 
wing. 

This soul-stirring exhibition warmed us into action, 



SCENES IN BUFFALO HUNTING. 219 

and, mounting our horses, we dashed after the red man. 
Our direction soon brought us in sight of the retreating 
buffalo ; and, with the Indian and myself, dashed on a 
third person, the valiant " Breeches." 

I followed as a spectator, and keeping close to both, 
was enabled to watch two beings so widely different in 
form, looks, and action, while bent on the same exciting 
pursuit. 

Fortunately, two buffalos of large size, cut off from 
the main body, were being driven towards us by some 
one of our party : a distant report of a rifle, and the sud- 
den stopping of one of the animals, told the tale. 

The remaining bull, alarmed by the report of the 
rifle, rushed madly on, with enemies in front and rear. 
Discovering its new danger, it wheeled almost on its 
heels and ran for life. Whatever miffht have been our 
vivid imaginings of the excitement of a buffalo chase, 
we now felt the fruition beyond our most sanguine 
hopes. 

Before us ran the buffalo, then followed the Indian, 
and beside him " Breeches," so closely that you would 
have thought a dark Apollo on a mettled charger, had 
by some necromancy cast the shadow of a cornfield scare- 
crow. We soon gained on the buffalo, rapidly as he 
moved his feet under him. " Breeches " poised his rude 
instrument to make the fearful cut at the hamstrings, 
when the Indian, plucking an arrow from his cjuiver, 
bent his bow, and pointing it at " Breeches' " side, 



220 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 



let it fly. The stick held by " Breeches 



leaped from his grasp as if it had been struck by a club ; 
another instant, and again the bow was bent ; guiding 
his horse with his feet, the Indian came alongside of the 
buffalo, and drove the arrow to the feather into his 
side. 

A chuckling guttural laugh followed this brilliant 
exploit, and as the animal, after a few desperate leaps, 
fell forward and vomited blood, again was repeated the 
same joyous whoop that so roused our stagnant blood at 
the beginning of the chase. 

The instant that " Breeches " dropped his stick, his 
horse, probably from habit, stopped; and the one on 
which I rode followed the example. The Indian dis- 
mounted, and stood beside the buffalo the instant he fell. 
The shaggy and rough appearance of the dead animal — 
the healthy-looking and ungroomed horse with his roving 
eye and long mane — and the Indian himself, contem- 
plating his work like some bronze statue of antique art 
— formed a group, the simplicity aijd beautiful wildness 
of which would have struck the eye of the most in- 
sensible. 

" Breeches," alike insensible to the charms of the 
tailor's art, and to the picturesque — handed the Indian 
his first fired arrow, and then stooping down, with a 
gentle pressure, thrust the head of the one in the buf- 
falo through the opposite side from which it entered, 
and handed it to its owner, with disgust marked upon 




Tlicre WHS a ^iiiiplicily ami Leautiliil \\il(liies.- about ihe group, thaL uouul 
Imve struck the eye of the most iiisen.Mble."— jva^e 220. 



SCENES IN BUFFALO HUNTING. 221 

his face, that displayed no great pleasure at the Indian's 
appearance and company. 

Among the Indian tribes there are certain styles of 
doing things, which are as essential to command the at- 
tention and win the favor of a real hunter, as there are 
peculiar manners and modes commended, and only ac- 
knowledged, by sportsmen. 

A poor despicable tribe, bearing the name of Ta-wa- 
ki-na, inhabiting the plains of Texas, kill the buffalo by 
hamstringing them, and are, therefore, despised and 
driven out from among the " Indian men." 

A young Comanche chief, fond of adventure, and 
friendly with " Breeches," had gone out of his way to 
join in our sport ; and having shown to the white man 
his skill, and for " Breeches " his contempt for his imita- 
tions of a despised tribe, he passed on in pursuit of his 
own business, either of war or of pleasure. 

The experience of our first buffalo hunt satisfied us 
that the rifle was not the most effective instrument in 
destroying the animal. The time consumed in loading 
the rifle is sufficient for an Indian to shoot several ar- 
rows, while the arrow more quickly kills than the 
bullet. 

As the little party to which I was attached had 
more notions of fun than any particular method of 
hunting, a day was set apart for a buffalo hunt, " Ta- 
wa-ki-na fashion," and for this purpose rifles were laid 
aside, and poles about seven feet long, with razor blades 



222 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

fastened on them a few inches from the end, so as to 
form a fork, were taken in their place. Arriving in the 
vicinity of the buffalo, those who were disposed entered 
into the sport pell-mell. 

Like a faithful squire I kept close at the heels of 
" Breeches," who soon brought a fine young heifer bel- 
lowing to the ground. As the animal uttered sounds 
of pain, one or two fierce-looking bulls that gallantly 
followed in the rear, exposing themselves to attack to 
preserve the weaker members of the herd, stopped 
short for an instant, and eyed us with most unpleasant 
curiosity. This roused the knight of the deer-skin 
breeches ; and, brandishing his stick over his head with 
a remarkable degree of dexterity, he dashed off as if de- 
termined to slay both at once. 

My two companions who started out as Ta-wa-ki-nas, 
had done but little execution, not understanding their 
work, or alarmed at so near an approach of the animals 
they wounded, without bringing them to the earth. As 
" Breeches " dashed on after the bulls, he severally 
crossed the route of all who were on the chase ; and as 
he was unquestionably the hero of the day, all followed 
in his train, determined to see hamstringing done sci- 
entifically. 

It is a singular fact in the formation of the buffalo, 
and the familiar cattle of the farm-yard, that, although 
so much alike in general appearance, the domesticated 
animal will, after being hamstrung, run long distances. 



SCENES IN BUFFALO HUNTING. 223 

The buffalo, on the contrary, the moment that the ten- 
don is severed, falls to the ground entirely helpless, and 
perfectly harmless to one beyond the reach of its horns. 
A very short chase in company with " Breeches," 
brought us up to one of the bulls ; he poised his stick, 
thrust it forward, and the tendon Achilles^ full of life 
and full of action, was touched by the sharp blade ; its 
tension, as it sustained the immense bull in his upward 
leaps, made it, when severed, spring back as will the 
breaking string of the harp; and the helpless beast, 
writhing in pain, came to the ground. 

One of our party on witnessing this exhibition, gave 
an exulting shout, and declared that he would bring a 
buff'alo down or break his neck ; he soon came beside a 
venerable bull, and as he made repeated thrusts, a thou- 
sand directions were given him as to the manner of pro- 
ceeding. The race was a well contested one, and the 
heels of the pursued animal were strangely accelerated 
by the thrusts made at him in his rear. 

A lunge was finally accomplished by the " Ta-wa-ki- 
na," that almost threw him from his horse ; the fearful 
cut brought the huge bull directly under the rider's 
feet ; the next instant the noble steed was impaled upon 
the buff'alo 's horns, and the unfortunate rider lay in- 
sensible on the ground. In the excitement, the wrong 
hamstring had been cut, and, as the animal always falls 
upon the wounded side, the mistake had caused the bull 
to become a stumbling block in his path. 



224 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

We hastened to our unfortunate companion, chafed 
his temples, and brought him to his senses. Happily, 
save the loss of a generous steed, no great damage was 
done. The " Ta-wa-ki-na " acknowledged that hamstring- 
ing buffalo was as contemptible, as it was thought to be 
by the Comanche chief. Thus ended this novel and 
barbarian hunt, which afforded incidents for many 
rough jokes and amusing reflections on hamstringing 
buffalos. 

As a reward for these frontier sports it is but just 
to say, that we feasted plentifully upon buffalo steaks, 
marrow bones, humps, and tongues ; yet surfeited as was 
the body, the mind was not satisfied. 

There was a waste of life and of food accompanying 
the hunting of *he animal, that, like an ever-present 
spirit of evil, took away from our enjoyment that zest 
which is necessary to make it a favorite sport. 



WOODCOCK FIEE-HUNTING. 

*"Ti3 murderous, but profitable,"— 7bm Owen. 

One of the most beautiful and " legitimate " amusements 
of gentlemen, is woodcock shooting. In the " back- 
woods," where game of every kind is plentiful, it is pur- 
sued a« often as a necessary of life, as for the gratifica- 
tion afforded by the sport. 

Persons living in the hotbeds of civilization, but 
who yet retain enough of the old leaven of the wild man, 
to love to destroy the birds of the air, and the beasts of 
the field, are obliged to eke out the excitements of the 
field by conventional rules, which prescribe the manner 
of killing, the weapon to be used, and the kind of dog 
to be employed ; — and the sportsman who is most correct 
in all these named particulars, is deservedly a " celeb- 
rity " in his day and generation. 

No sport is more properly guarded and understood 
by amateur hunters than woodcock shooting, and no 
sport is more esteemed. Therefore, it was that the an- 
nouncement that there was a section of the United 
10* 



226 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

States where the game bird was hunted by torchlight, 
and killed " without the benefit of clergy," created the 
same sensation among the " legitimists," as is felt at Saint 
Germain's, because there is " no Bourbon on the throne" 
— a thrill of horror pervaded the hearts of many who 
could believe such a thing possible — while the more 
" strait laced " and deeply conscientious, disbelieved 
entirely,' and pronounced the report too incredible 
for any thing but a " hoax." Yet, woodcock fire-hunting 
is a fact, although most circumscribed in its geographical 
limits, the reasons for which, will appear in the attempt 
at a description of the sport. 

Woodcock fire-hunting is almost entirely confined to 
a narrow strip of country running from the mouth of the 
Mississippi, up the river about three hundred miles. This 
narrow strip of country is the rich and thickly settled land 
that borders on the river, and which varies from one to 
three miles in width ; it is in fact nothing but the ridge 
or high ground that separates the Mississippi from the 
interminable swamps, that compose so great a portion of 
the State of Louisiana. 

The habits of the woodcock make it entirely a noc- 
turnal bird ; it retires into these swamps that border its 
feeding grounds during the day, and is perfectly safe 
from interruption ; hidden among the tangled vines, 
cane-brakes, and boggy land, it consults alike its pleasure 
and safety ; finds convenient places for its nests, and 
raises its young, with the assurance of being undisturb- 



WOODCOCK FIRE-HUNTING. 227 

ed. Asa matter of course they increase rapidly, until 
these solitudes become alive with their simple murmur- 
ing note ; and when evening sets in, they fill the high 
land which we have described, in numbers which can 
scarcely be imagined by any one except an eye-witness. 

Another cause, probably, of their being so numerous 
in this section of the country may be owing to their mi- 
gratory habits, as the bird is seen as far north as the 
river St. Lawrence in summer, and we presume that these 
very birds return for their winter residence in Louisiana 
in the very months when " fire-hunting " is practised, 
which is in the latter part of December, January, and 
the first part of February. 

Yet, a resident in the vicinity or among the haunts 
of these birds, may live a life through, and make day 
hunting a business, yet be unconscious that woodcock 
inhabit his path ; so much is this the case, that I do 
not know of the birds ever being hunted, in the common 
and universal way, in the places where fire-hunting them 
is practised. 

This novel sport, we presume, originated among the 
descendants of the French, who originally settled on the 
whole tract of country bordering on the Mississippi, as 
high up as it favors this kind of sport. Here it is, that 
" Beccasse " forms a common dish when in season, in 
which the poor and the wealthy indulge as a luxury, too 
common to be a variety, and too excellent not to be al- 
ways welcome. 



228 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

With these preliminaries let us prepare for the 
sport. 

Provide yourself with a short double-barrelled fowl- 
ing-piece of small bore ; let your ammunition be first-rate, 
and have something the size of a small thimble where- 
with to measure out your load of mustard shot. Let 
your powder be in a small flask, but keep your shot loose 
with your measure, in the right side pocket of your 
shooting jacket — and, astonished sportsman ! leave thy 
noble brace of dogs shut up in their kennels ; for we 
would hunt woodcock, incredible as it may seem, with- 
out them. 

In the place of the dogs we will put a stout negro, 
who understands his business, burdened with what re- 
sembles an old-fashioned Warming-pan, but the bottom, 
instead of the top, pierced with holes ; in this pan are 
small splinters of pine knot, and we denominate this, the 
Torch. Then put on the broad-brimmed palmetto hat, 
so that it will shade your eyes, and keep them from 
alarming the birds. Now, follow me down into any of 
the old fields that lie between the river and the swamp, 
while the ladies can stand upon spacious galleries that 
surround the house, and tell by the quick report of 
guns our success ; the streaming light from " the torch," 
will, to them, from the distance, look like an ignis fatuus 
dancing the cachuca in the old field. 

It is in the middle of January, the night is a favor- 
able one, the weather rather warm, the thermometer says 



WOODCOCK FIRE-HUNTING. 229 

" temperate," and the fog rolls off the cold water into 
the river like steam ; an old " fire-hunter " says, *' this is 
just the night." 

Whiz — whiz — hallo ! What's here ? Sambo strike 
a light, and hoist it over your head. Now, friend, place 
yourself behind the torch, on the left, both of us in the 
rear to court the shade Now, torch-bearer, lead on. 
Whiz — bang — whiz, bang — two woodcock in a minute. 
Bang, bang. Heavens, this is murder ! Don't load too 
heavy — let your charges be mere squibs, and murder 
away, — the sport is fairly up. 

The birds show plainly from three to ten paces all 
around you, and you can generally catch them on the 
ground, but as they rise slowly and perpendicularly 
from the glare of the light, with a flickering motion, 
you can bring them down before they start off like ar- 
rows into the surrounding darkness. Thank the stars 
they do not fly many paces before they again alight^ so 
that you can follow the same bird or birds until every one 
is destroyed. Bang, bang — how exciting — don't the birds 
look beautiful as they stream up into the light ; the 
slight reddish tinge of their head and breast shining for 
an instant in the glare of the torch like fire. 

Ha! see that stream of gold, bang — and we have a 
meadow-lark, the bright yellow of its breast being more 
beautiful than the dull colors of the woodcock. And I 
see, friend, you have bagged a quail or two. Well, 
such things occasionally happen. Two hours sport, and 



230 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

we have killed between us nearly thirty birds. With 
old hunters the average is always more, and a whole 
night's labor, if successful, is often rewarded with a 
round hundred. 

Practice and experience, as a matter of course, have 
much to do with success in this sport, but less than in 
any other ; for we have known tyros, on one or two occa- 
sions, to do very well with clubs ; while the negroes 
have thrashed them down by " baskets-full " with whips 
made of bundles of young cane, the birds being so thick 
that some could be brought down even in this way, while 
endeavoring, in their confusion, to get out of the glare 
of the torch. 

This fact, and the quantity of birds killed, attest to 
the extraordinary numbers that inhabit this particular 
section of country. 

Let the birds, however, be less numerous than we 
have described, and they are on some days more plenti- 
ful than on others, and one who is a good shot, in the or- 
dinary way of hunting the bird, has only to overcome his 
astonishment, and we will add, horror, at the mode in 
which he sees his favorite game killed, to be a perfect 
master of woodcock fire-hunting under all circumstances. 
It is common with those who are fond of sport, and 
have some sentiment about them, never to fire until the 
bird rises, and then to bring down a bird with each 
barrel. 

This requires quick shooting, as the torch only sheds 



WOODCOCK FIRE-HUNTING. 231 

an available light in a circle of about twenty yards in 
diameter. Parties are frequently made up who hunt 
during a given number of hours, and the destruction of 
the birds on these occasions is almost beyond belief. 

These parties afford rare sport, and are often kept 
up all night. 

When this is the case, the sportsman not unfre- 
quently sleeps to so late an hour in the day that he has 
only time to rise, sip a cup of strong coffee, and leisurely 
dress for dinner, when it is announced as ready, and 
woodcock, plentiful to wasting, are smoking on the board 
before him. 

Such a dinner, the dullest intellect can imagine, is a 
repast both for sense and soulj — for woodcock and wit 
are synonymous. 



THE 

WATER CRAFT OF THE BACK-WOODS. 

Starting amid the volcanic precipices, eternal snows, 
and arid deserts of the Rocky Mountains ; the Snake 
River winds its sinuous way towards the Pacific ; at one 
time, rushing headlong through the deep gorges of the 
mountains, and at another, spreading itself out in still 
lakes, as it sluggishly advances through ever-vary- 
ing scenes of picturesque grandeur and of voluptuous 
softness. 

In all this variety, the picture only changes from the 
beautiful to the sublime ; while the eye of the civilized 
intruder, as it speculates on the future, can see on the 
Snake River, the city, the village, and the castle, in situ- 
ations more interesting and more romantic than they 
have ever yet presented themselves to the world. 

The solitary trapper and the wild Indian are now 
the sole inhabitants of its beautiful shores ; the wigwams 
of the aborigine, the temporary lodge of the hunter and 



WATER-CRAFT OF THE BACK-WOODS. 233 

the cunning beaver, rear themselves almost side by side, 
and nature reposes like a virgin bride in all her beauty 
and loveliness, soon to be stripped of her natural charms 
to fulfil new offices with a new existence. 

On an abrupt bank of this beautiful stream, overlook- 
ing the surrounding landscape for miles — a spot of all 
others to be selected for a site of beauty and defence, 
might be seen a few lodges of the Wallawallah In- 
dians. 

On the opposite shore stood a fine young warrior, 
decked in all the tinsel gewgaws which his savage fancy 
had suggested, to catch the love of his mistress. With 
stealthy steps he opened the confused undergrowth that 
lined the banks, and taking therefrom a delicate paddle, 
he fruitlessly searched until the truth flashed upon him, 
that some rival had stolen his canoe. Readily would he 
have dashed into the bosom of the swollen river, and, as 
another Leander, sought another Hero, but his dress was 
not to be thus spoiled. Like a chafed lion he walked 
along the shore, his bosom alternately torn by rage, love, 
and vanity, when, far up the bank he saw a herd of 
buffalo slaking their thirst in the running stream. Seiz- 
ing his bow and arrow, with noiseless step he stole upon 
his victim, and the unerring shaft soon brought it to the 
earth, struggling with the agonies of death. 
• It was the work of only an adept to strip off the skin 
and spread it on the ground. Upon it were soon laid 
the gayly wrought moccasons, leggings, and hunting 



234 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

shirt — the trophies of honorable warfare, and the skins 
of birds of beautiful plumage. The corners of the hide 
were then brought together, and tied with thongs ; the 
bundle was set afloat upon the stream, and its owner 
dashed on the rear, guiding it to the opposite shore 
with its contents unharmed. 

Again decking himself, and bearing his wooing to- 
kens before him, he ran with the swiftness of the deer 
to the lodge that contained his mistress, leaving the 
swtplest of all the water-craft of the back-woods to de- 
cay upon the ground. 

The helplessness of age, the appealing eyes and hands 
of infancy, the gallantry of the lover, the hostile excur- 
sion of a tribe, are natural incentives to the savage 
mind to improve upon the mere bundle of inanimate 
things that could be safely floated upon the water. To 
enlarge this bundle, to build up its sides, would be his 
study and delight, and we have accordingly next in the 
list of back-woods craft, what is styled by the white man, 
— the Buffalo-skin boat. This craft is particularly the 
one of the prairie country, where the materials for its 
construction are always to be found, and where its build- 
ers are always expert. 

A party of Indians find themselves upon the banks 
of some swift and deep river — there is no timber larger 
than a common walking stick to be seen for miles around; 
the Indians are loaded with plunder — for they have 
made a successful incursioii into the territory of some 



WATER-CRAFT OF THE BACK-WOODS. 235 

neighboring tribe, and cannot trust their effects in the 
water ; or thej are perchance migrating to a favorite 
hunting ground, and have with them all their domestic 
utensils, their squaws and children. A boat is posi- 
tively necessary, and it must be made of the materials 
at hand. A fire is kindled, and by it are laid a number 
of long slender poles, form.ed by trimming off the limbs 
of the saplings growing on the margin of the stream. 
While this is going on, some of the braves start in pur- 
suit of buffalo ; two of the stoutest bulls met with, are 
killed and stripped of their skins. These skins are then 
sewed together, the poles having been well heated, the 
longest is selected and bent into the proper form for a 
keel ; the ribs are then formed and lashed transversely 
to it, making what would appear to be the skeleton of a 
large animal. This skeleton is then placed upon the 
hairy side of the buffalo skin, when it is drawn around 
the frame and secured by holes cut in the skin, and 
hitched on to the ribs ; a little pounded slippery-elm 
bark is used to caulk the seams, and small pieces of 
wood cut with a thread-like screw, are inserted in the 
arrow or bullet holes of the hide. 

Thus, in the course of two or three hours, a hand- 
some and durable boat is completed, capable of carrying 
eight or ten men with comfort and safety. 

Passing from the prairie we come to the thick forest, 
and there we find the most perfect of the water-craft of 
the back-woods — the varieties of the canoe. The in- 



236 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

habitant of the woods never dreams of a boat made of 
skins ; he looks to the timber for a conveyance. Skilled 
in the knowledge of plants, he knows the exact time 
when the bark of the tree will most readily unwarp from 
its native trunk ; and from this simple material he forms 
the most beautiful craft that sits upon the water. 

The rival clubs that sport their yachts upon the 
Thames, or ply them upon the harbor of Mannahatta, 
like things of life — formed as their boats are by the high 
scientific knowledge and perfect manual skill of the two 
great naval nations in the world, are thrown in the 
shade by the beautiful and simple bark canoe, made by 
the rude hatchet and knife of the red man. 

The American forest is filled with trees, whose bark 
can be appropriated to the making of canoes ; the pecan, 
and all the hickories, with the birch, grow there in infinite 
profusion. 

A tree of one of these species that presents a trunk 
clear of limbs for fifteen or twenty feet, is first selected ; 
the artisan has nothing but a rude hunting knife and 
tomahawk for the instruments of his craft ; with the lat- 
ter, he girdles the bark near the root of the tree — this 
done, he ascends to the proper height, and there makes 
another girdle ; then taking his knife and cutting 
through the bark downwards, he separates it entirely 
from the trunk. 

Ascending the tree again, he inserts his knife-blade 
under the bark, and turning it up, soon forces it with 



WATER-CRAFT OF THE BACK-WOODS. 237 

his hand until he can use more powerful levers ; once 
well started, he will worm his body between the bark 
and the trunk, and thus tear it off, throwing it upon the 
ground, like an immense scroll. The ross, or outside of 
the bark, is scraped off until it is quite smooth, the 
scroll is then opened, and the braces inserted in order to 
give the proper width to the gunnels of the canoe. 
Strong cords are then made from the bark of the linn 
tree or hickory, the open ends of the bark scroll are 
pressed together and fastened between clamps, the clamps 
secured by the cord. If the canoe be intended only for 
a temporary use, the clamps are left on. 

But if to usefulness there can be added the highest 
beauty, then the rude clamps are displaced by the sew- 
ing together of the ends of the bark. A preparation 
is then made of deer's tallow and pounded charcoal, 
which is used instead of pitch to fill up the meshes of 
the seams, and the boat is complete. 

This simple process produces the most beautiful 
model of a boat that can be imagined ; art can neither 
embellish the form, or improve upon the simple mechan- 
ism of the back-woods. Every line in it is graceful, and 
its sharp bows indeed seem almost designed to cleave the 
air as well as water, so perfectly does it embrace every 
scientific requisite for overcoming the obstructions of 
the element in which it is destined to move. In these 
apparently frail machines, the red man, aided but by a 
single paddle, will thread the quiet brook and deep run- 



238 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

ning river, speed over the glassy lake like a swan, and 
shoot through the foaming rapids as sportively as the 
trout, and when the storm rages, and throws the waves 
heavenward, and the lurid clouds seem filled with mol- 
ten fire, you will see the Indian, like a spirit of the 
storm, at one time standing out in bold relief against 
the lightning-riven sky, the next moment — disappearing 
in the watery gulf, rivalling the gull in the gracefulness 
of his movements, and rejoicing, like the petrel, in the 
confusion of the elements. 

The articles used in savage life, like all the works 
of nature, are simple, and yet perfectly adapted to the 
purpose for which they are designed. 

The most ingenious and laborious workman, aided 
by the most perfect taste, cannot possibly form a vessel 
so general in its use, so excellent in its ends, as the 
calabash. 

The Indian finds it suspended in profusion in every 
glade of his forest home, spontaneous in its growth, and 
more efi"ectually protected from destruction from ani- 
mals, through a bitter taste, than by any artificial bar- 
rier whatever. So with all the rest of his. appropriations 
from nature's hands. His mind scarcely ever makes an 
effort, and consequently seldom improves. 

The simple buffalo skin that forms a protection for 
the trifles of an Indian lover, when he would bear them 
safely across the swollen stream, compared with the 
gorgeous barge that conveyed Egypt's queen down the 



WATER-CRAFT OF THE BACKWOODS. 239 

Nile to meet Antony, seems immeasurably inferior in 
skill and contrivance. Yet the galley of Cleopatra, with 
all its gay trappings, and its silken sails glittering in 
the sun, was as far inferior to a " ship of the line," as 
the Indian's rude bundle to the barge of Cleopatra. 

Imagination may go back to some early period, when 
the naked Phoenician sported upon a floating log ; may 
mark his progress, as the inviting waters of the Mediter- 
ranean prompted him to more adventurous journeyings, 
and in time see him astonishing his little world, by fear- 
lessly navigating about the bays, and coasting along the 
whole length of his native home. 

How many ages after this, was it, that the invading 
fleets of classic Greece, proud fleets, indeed, in which 
the gods themselves were interested, were pulled ashore, 
as now the fisherman secures his little skiff ? Admire 
the proud battle ship, riding upon the waves, forming a 
safe home for thousands, now touching the clouds with 
its sky-reaching masts, and descending safely into the 
deep. With what power and majesty does it dash the 
intruding wave from its prow, and rush on in the very 
teeth of the winds ! 

Admire it as the wonder of human skill, then go 
back through the long cycle of years, and see how many 
centuries have elapsed in thus perfecting it — then ex- 
amine the most elaborate craft of our savage life, and 
the antiquity of their youth will be impressed upon 
you. 



PLACE DE LA CKOIX. 

A ROMANCE OF THE WEST. 

There is much of beautiful romance in tlie whole his- 
tory of the early settlements of Florida. De Soto and 
Ponce de Leon have thrown around the records of their 
searches for gold and the waters of life, a kind of dreamy 
character which renders them more like traditions of a 
spiritual than of a real world. They and their followers 
were men of stern military discipline, who had won hon- 
ors in their conquests over the Moors ; and they came 
hither not as emigrants, seeking an asylum from oppres- 
sion, but as proud nobles, anxious to add to their nu- 
merous laurels, by conquests in a new world. The 
startling discoveries, — the fruits, the gold, and the na- 
tives that appeared with Columbus at the court of Isa- 
bella, — gave to fancy an impetus, and to enthusiasm a 
power, which called forth the pomp of the " Infallible 




PLACE DE LA CROIX. 241 

Church " to mingle her sacred symbols with those of 
arms ; and they went joined together through the wilds 
of America. 

Among the beautiful and striking customs of those 
days, was the erection of the Cross at the mouths of 
fivers, and prominent points of land, that presented them- 
selves to the discoverers. 

The sacred symbol thus reared in solitude, seemed 
to shadow forth the future, when the dense forests would 
be filled with its followers, instead of the wild savage 5 
and it cheered the lonely pilgrim in his dangerous jour- 
neys, bringing to his mind all the cherished associations 
of this life, and directing his thoughts to another world. 
In the putting up of these crosses, as they bore the arms 
of the sovereign whose subjects erected them, and as 
they were indicative of civil jurisdiction and empire, the 
most prominent and majestic locations were selected, 
where they could be seen for miles around, towering 
above every other object, speaking the advances of the 
European, and giving title to the lands over which they 
cast their shadows. 

Three hundred years ago the sign of the cross was 
first raised on the banks of the Mississippi. 

From one of the few bluffs or high points of land 

that border that swift-running river, De Soto, guided by 

the aborigines of the country, was the first European 

that looked upon its turbid waters, soon to be his grave. 

On this high blufi", taking advantage of a lofty cotton - 
11 



242 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

wood tree, he caused its majestic trunk to be sliorn of 
its limbs ; and on this tall shaft placed the beam which 
formed the cross. 

This completed, the emblazoned banners of Spain 
and Arragon were unfarled to the breeze, and, amid the 
strains of martial music and the firing of cannon, the 
steel-clad De Soto, assisted by the priests in his train, 
raised the host to heaven, and declared the reign of 
Christianity commenced in the valley of the Mississippi. 

The erection of this touching symbol in the great 
temple of nature was full of poetry. The forests, like 
the stars, declare the wonderful works of the Creator. 
In the silent grandeur of our primeval woods, in their 
avenues of columns, their canopies of leaves, their fes- 
toons of vines, the cross touched the heart, and spoke 
more fully its office than ever it will glistening among 
the human greatness of a Milan cathedral, or the solemn 
grandeur of a St. Peter's, 

Two hundred years after Ponce de Leon had min- 
gled his dust with the sands of the peninsula of Florida, 
and De Soto reposed beneath the current of the Missis- 
sippi, the same spirit of religious and military enthusi- 
asm pervaded the settlements made by both French and 
Spanish in this " land of flowers." 

Among the adventurers of that day were many who 
mingled the romantic ambition of the crusaders with 
the ascetic spirit of the monk, and who looked upon 
themselves as ambassadors of religion to new nations in 



PLACE DE LA CROIX. 213 

a new world. Of such was Rousseau. It requires lit- 
tle imagination to understand the disappointment that 
such a man would meet with in the forest, and as an 
intruder of the untractable red man. The exalted no- 
tions of Rousseau ended in despondence, when away from 
the pomp and influence of his church. Having been 
nurtured in the " Eternal City," he had not the zeal, 
and lacked the principle, to become an humble teacher 
to humbler recipients of knowledge. 

Disregarding his priestly office, he finally mingled 
in the dissipations of society, and in the year 1736, 
started off as a military companion to D'Arteguette in 
his expedition among the Chickasas. 

The death of D'Arteguette and his bravest troops, 
and the dispersion of his Indian allies, left Rousseau a 
wanderer, surrounded by implacable enemies, he being 
one of the few who escaped the fate of battle. 

Unaccustomed to forest life, and more than a thousand 
miles from the Canadas, he became a prey of imaginary 
and real dangers. Unprovided with arms, his food was 
of roots or herbs. At night the wild beasts howled 
round his cold couch, and every stump in the daytime 
seemed to him to conceal an Indian. 

Now it was, that Rousseau reviewed the incidents of 
his past life with sorrow. He discovered^ when it was 
too late, that he had lost his peace of mind, and his 
hopes of future existence, for a momentary enjoyment. 
Wasting with watching and hunger, he prayed to the 



m 



244 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTEE,. 

Virgin to save him, that he might, by a long life of pen- 
ance, obliterate his sins. On the twelfth day of his 
wanderings he sank upon the earth to die, and, casting 
his eyes upward in prayer, he saw, far in the distance, 
towering above every other object, the cross ! 

It seemed a miracle, and inspired with strength his 
trembling limbs ; he pressed forward that he might 
breathe his last at its foot. As he reached it, a smile 
of triumph lighted up his wayworn features, and he fell 
insensible to the earth. 

Never, perhaps, was this emblem more beautifully 
decorated or more touchingly displayed than was the 
one that towered over Rousseau. From indications, 
some fifteen years might have elapsed since the Euro- 
pean pilgrim had erected it. One of the largest forest 
trees had been chosen that stood upon the surrounding 
bluffs ; the tall trunk tapered upward with the propor- 
tion of a Corinthian column, which, with the piece form- 
ing the cross, was covered with ten thousand of those 
evergreen vines that spread such a charm over the 
southern landscape. It seemed as if nature had paid 
tribute to the sacred symbol, and festooned it with a 
perfection and beauty worthy of her abundance. The 
honey-suckle and the ivy, the scarlet creeper and fra- 
grant jasmine, the foliage enamelled with flowers, shed 
upon the repentant, and now insensible Rousseau, a 
shower of fragrance. 

Near where he lay, there was a narrow o.nd amply- 



Mt 



PLACE DE LA CROLX. 245 

worn footpath. You could trace it, from where it lost 
itself in the deep forests, to where it wound around the 
steep ■ washed bank, and touched the water's edge. 
At this point were to be seen the prints of footsteps ; 
and traces of small fires were also visible, one of which, 
still sent up puffs of smoke. 

Here it was that the Choctaw maidens and old 
women performed their rude labor of washing. 

In the morning and evening sun, a long line of the 
forest children might be seen, with clay jars and skins 
filled with water, carrying them upon their heads, and 
stringing up, .single file, the steep bank, and losing them- 
selves in the woods ; — with their half-clad and erect 
forms, making a most picturesque display, not unlike 
the processions figured in the hieroglyphical paintings 
of Egypt. 

Soon after Rousseau fell at the cross, there might 
have been seen emerging from the woods, and following 
the path we have described, a delicately-formed Indian 
girl. In her hand was a long reed and a basket, and 
she came with blithe steps towards the river. As she 
passed the cross, the form of Rousseau met her eyes. 
Stopping and examining him, with almost overpowering 
curiosity, she retreated with precipitation, but almost 
instantly returned. She approached nearer, until the 
wan and insensible face met her view. Strange as was 
his appearance and color, the chord of humanity was 
touched, the woman forgot both fear and curiosity, in 



246 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTEK. 

her anxiety to allay visible suffering. A moment had 
hardly elapsed before water was thrown in his face and 
held to his lips. 

The refreshing beverage brought him to conscious- 
ness. He stared wildly about, and discovered the In- 
dian form bending over him ; he again sank insensible 
to the earth. Like a young doe the girl bounded away, 
and disappeared. 

A half hour might have elapsed, when there issued 
out of the forest a long train of Indians. At their 
head was the young maiden, surrounded by armed war- 
riors ; in the rear followed women and children. They 
approached Rousseau, whose recovery was but momen- 
tary, and who was now unconscious of what was passing 
around him. The crowd examined him first with cau- 
tion, gradually, with familiarity ; their whispers became 
animated conversation, and, finally, blended in one noisy 
confusion. 

There were, among those present, many who had 
heard of the white man and of his powers, but none had 
ever seen one before. One Indian, more bold than the 
rest, stripped the remnant of a cloak from Rousseau's 
shoulder ; another, emboldened by this act, caught 
rudely hold of his coat, and as he pulled it aside, there 
fell from his breast a small gilt crucifix, held by a silken 
cord. Its brilliancy excited the cupidity of all, and 
many were the eager hands that pressed forward to ob- 
tain it. An old chief gained the prize, and fortunately 




He btarcd AviUUy about him. a.ul .liscovore.l the Inilinn torn, l-enaii.u' 
ever biin."'— i><'S/^ "246. 



PLACE DE LA CROIX. 247 

for Rousseau, his prowess and influence left him in un- 
disputed possession. As he examined the little trinket, 
the Indian girl we have spoken of, the only female near 
Rousseau, crossed her delicate fingers, and pointed up- 
ward. The old chief instantly beheld the similarity be- 
tween the large and small symbol of Christianity ; and 
extending it aloft, with all the dignity of a cardinal, the 
crowd shouted as they saw the resemblance, and a change 
came over them all. 

They associated at once the erection of the large 
cross with Rousseau ; and as their shout had again 
called forth exhibitions of life from his insensible form, 
they threw his cloak over him, suspended the cross to 
his neck, brought, in a moment, green boughs, with 
which a litter was made, and bore him with all respect 
toward their lodges. The excitement and exercise of 
removal did much to restore him to life ; a dish of maize 
did more ; and nothing could exceed his astonishment 
on his recovery, that he should be treated with such 
kindness ; and as he witnessed the respect paid the cross, 
and was shown by rude gestures, that he owed his life to 
its influence, he sank upon his knees, overwhelmed with 
its visible exhibition of power, and satisfied that his 
prayer for safety had been answered by the accomplish- 
ment of a miracle. 

The Choctaws, into whose hands the unfortunate 
Rousseau had fallen (although he was not aware of the 
difi"erence), were of a kinder nature than the Cherokees, 
from whom he had so lately escaped. 



248 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTEK. 

Years before, the inhabitants of the little village, 
on their return from a hunting expedition, discovered 
the cross we have described ; its marks then were such 
as would be exhibited a few days after its erection. 
Footsteps were seen about its base, which, from their 
variance with the mark left by the moccasin, satisfied 
the Indians that it was not erected by any of their 
people. The huge limbs that had been shorn from the 
trunk bore fresh marks of terrible cuts, which the stone 
hatchet could not have made. 

As is natural to the Indian mind, on the display of 
power which they cannot explain, they appropriately, 
though accidentally, associated the cross with the Great 
Spirit, and looked upon it with wonder and admiration. 

Beside the cross there was found an axe, left by 
those who had used it. This was an object of the 
greatest curiosity to its finders. They struck it into 
the trees, severed huge limbs, and performed other pow- 
erful feats with it, and yet fancied that their own rude 
stone instruments failed to do the same execution, from 
want of a governing spirit, equal to that which they 
imagined presided over the axe, and not from difference 
of material. 

The cross and the axe were associated together in 
the Indians' minds ; and the crucifix of Rousseau con- 
nected him with both. They treated him, therefore, 
with all the attention they would bestow upon a being 
who is master of a superior power. 



PLACE DE LA CROIX. 249 

The terrible and strange incidents that had formed 
the life of Rousseau, since the defeat of his military 
associate, D'Arteguette, seemed to him, as he recalled 
them in his mind, to have occupied an age. His dreams 
were filled with scenes of torment and death. He would 
start from his sleep with the idea that an arrow was pen- 
etrating his body, or that the bloody knife was at his 
heart ; these were then changed into visions of starva- 
tion, or destruction by wild beasts. Recovering his 
senses, he would find himself in a comfortable lodge, 
reposing on a couch of soft skins ; while the simple 
children of the woods, relieved of their terrors, were 
waiting to administer to his wants. The change from 
the extreme of suffering to that of comfort, he could 
hardly realize. 

The cross in the wilderness, the respect they paid to 
the one upon his breast, were alike inexplicable ; and 
Rousseau, according to the spirit of his age, felt that a 
miracle had been wrought in his favor : and on his 
bended knees he renewed his ecclesiastical vows, and 
determined to devote his life to enlightening and chris- 
tianizing the people among whom Providence had placed 
him. 

The Indian girl who first discovered Rousseau, was 
the only child of a powerful chief. She was still a 
maiden, and the slavish labor of savage married life 
had, consequently, not been imposed upon her. 
11* 



250 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

Among her tribe she was universally considered 
beautiful ; and her hand had been vainly sought by all 
the young " braves " of her tribe. 

Wayward, or indifferent to please, she resolutely re- 
fused to occupy any lodge but her father's, however eli- 
gible and enviable the settlement might have appeared 
in the eyes of her associates. 

For an Indian girl she was remarkably gentle ; and, 
as Eousseau gradually recovered his strength, he had, 
through her leisure, more frequent intercourse with her 
than with any other of the tribe. There was also a feel- 
ing in his breast that she was, in the hands of an over- 
ruling Providence, the instrument used to preserve his 
life. Whatever might have been the speculations of 
the elders of the tribe, as day after day E-ousseau court- 
ed her society and listened to the sounds of her voice, 
we do not know ; but his attentions to her were indi- 
rectly encouraged, and the Indian girl was almost con- 
stantly at his side. 

Rousseau's plans were formed. The painful expe- 
rience he had encountered, while following the ambition 
of worldly greatness, had driven him back into the se- 
clusion of the church, with a love only to end with his 
life. 

He determined to learn the dialect of the people in 
whose lot his life was cast, and form them into a nation 
of worthy recipients of the "Holy Church;" and the 
gentle Indian girl was to him a preceptor, to teach him 



PLACE DE LA CROIX. 251 

her language. With this high resolve, he repeated the 
sounds of her voice, imitated her gesticulations, and en- 
couraged, with marked preference, her society. 

The few weeks passed by Rousseau among the 
Choctaws, had made him one bitter, implacable enemy. 
Unable to explain his office or his intentions, his prefer- 
ence for Chechoula, had been marked by the keen eye 
of a jealous and rejected lover. 

Wah-a-ola was a young '• brave," who had distin- 
guished himself on the hunting and war paths. Young 
as he was, he had won a name. Three times he had 
laid the trophies of his prowess at the feet of Chechoula, 
and as often she had rejected his suit. Astonished at 
his want of success, he looked upon his mistress as la- 
boring under the influence of some charm, for he could 
find no accepted rival for her hand. 

The presence of Rousseau — the marked preference 
which Chechoula exhibited for his society, settled, in 
his own mind, that the " pale face " was the charmer. 

With this conviction, he placed himself conveniently 
to meet his mistress, and once more pleaded his suit 
before he exhibited the feelings of hatred which he felt 
towards Rousseau. The lodge of Chechoula's father 
was, from the dignity of the chief, at the head of the 
Indian village, and at some little distance. The impa- 
tient Wah-a-ola seated himself near its entrance, where, 
from his concealment, he could watch whoever entered 
its door. A short time only elapsed, before he saw, in 



252 TirE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

the cold moonlight, a group of Indian girls approaching 
the Indian lodge, in busy conversation, and conspicu- 
ously among them all, Chechoula. 

Her companions separated from her, and as she en- 
tered her fathers's lodge, a rude buffalo skin shut her 
in. Soon after her disappearance, the little groups about 
the Indian village gradually dispersed ; the busy hum 
of conversation ceased ; and when profound stillness 
reigned, a plaintive note of the whip-poor-will was heard ; 
it grew louder and louder, until it appeared as if the lone 
bird was perched on the top of the lodge that contained 
Chechoula. It attracted her ear, for she thrust aside 
the buffalo-skin, and listened with fixed attention. The 
bird screamed, and appeared to flutter, as if wounded. 
Chechoula rushed toward the bushes that seemed to 
conceal so much distress, when Wah-a-ola sprang up and 
seized her wrist. The affrighted girl stared at her cap- 
tor for a moment, and then exclaimed, 

" The snake should not sing like the birds ! " 

Wah-a-ola relaxed not his hold ; there was a volcano 
in his breast, that seemed to overwhelm him as he glared 
upon Chechoula with blood-shot eyes. Struggling to 
conceal his emotion, he replied to her question, by ask- 
ing " If the wild-flowers of the woods were known only 
to their thorns ? " 

" The water-lilies grow upon smooth stones," said 
Chechoula, striving violently to retreat to her father's 
lodge. 



PLACE DE LA CROIX. 253 

The love of Wah-a-ola was full of jealousy, and 
the salute and reply of his mistress converted it into 
hate. Dashing his hand across his brow, on which the 
savage workings of his passion were plainly visible, he 
asked, if " a brave " was to whine for a woman like a 
bear for its cubs ? 

" Go ! " said he, flinging Chechoula's arm from him : 
" go ! The mistletoe grows not upon young trees, and 
the pale face shall be a rabbit in the den of the wolf ! " 

From the time that Rousseau was able to walk, he 
had made a daily pilgrimage to the cross, and there, 
upon his bended knees, greeted the morning sun. This 
habit was known to all the tribe. The morning follow- 
ing the scene between Wah-a-ola and Chechoula, he was 
found dead at the foot of the sacred tree. A poisoned 
arrow had been driven almost through his body. 

Great was the consternation of the Choctaws. It 
was considered a mysterious evidence of impending evil ; 
while not a single person could divine who was the mur- 
derer. 

" The mistletoe grows not upon young trees ! " 
thought Chechoula ; and for the first time she knew the 
full meaning of the words, as she bent over the body of 
Rousseau. She attended his obsequies with a sorrow 
less visible, but more deep, than that of her people ; al- 
though the whole tribe had, in the short residence of the 
departed, learned to respect him, and to look upon him 
as a great " Medicine." His grave was dug where he 



254 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

had so often prayed, and the same sod covered him that 
drank his heart's blood. 

According to Indian custom, all that he possessed, 
as well as those articles appropriated to his use, were 
buried with him in his grave. His little crucifix re- 
posed upon his breast, and he was remembered as one 
who had mysteriously come, and as' mysteriously passed 
away. 

A few years after the events we have detailed, a 
Jesuit missionary, who understood the Choctaw lan- 
guage, announced his mission to the tribe, and was by 
them kindly received. His presence revived the recollec- 
tions of Rousseau, and the story of his having been among 
them was told. The priest explained to them his office, 
and these wild people, in a short time, erected over the 
remains of E-ousseau a rude chapel ; his spirit was called 
upon as their patron saint, and Chechoula was the first 
to renounce the superstitions of her tribe, and receive 
the Holy Sacrament of Baptism. 

In the year 1829, a small brass cross was picked out 
of the banks of the Mississippi, near Natchez, at the 
depth of several feet from the surface. The crucifix was 
in tolerable preservation, and was exposed by one of 
those cavings of the soil so peculiar to the Mississippi. 
The speculations which the finding of this cross called 
forth, revived the almost forgotten traditions of the story 
of Rousseau, and of his death and burial at the Place 
De La Croix. 



OPOSSUM HUNTING. 

An opossum was made to represent the class of natural 
lusus naturcB^ for they are certainly the most singular, 
inexplicable little animals that live. In their creation, 
Dame Nature seems to have shown a willingness, if ne- 
cessary, to be ridiculous, just for the sake of introducing 
a new fashion. We will not, however, go into particu- 
lars, for we might infringe upon the details of " breed- 
ing," and thereby " o'erstep the modesty of nature." 

One of the peculiarities of the opossum that attracts 
to it general attention, is the singular pouch they have 
under the belly, in which their young are carried before 
their complete development, and also into which they 
retreat when alarmed by the approach of danger. 

This particular organ contains in its interior, ten or 
twelve teats, to which the 3'oung, after what seems a 
premature birth, are attached, and where they hang for 
about fifty days, then drop off, and commence a more 
active state of existence. 



256 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER, 

This animal evidently varies in size in different lati- 
tudes. In Louisiana they grow quite large compared 
with those inhabiting more northern climates. 

The opossum ranges in length from twelve to fifteen 
inches, the tail is about the same extent. The body is 
covered with a rough coating of white, gray, and brown 
hair, so intermixed and rough, that it makes the animal 
look as if it had been wet and then drawn through a coal- 
hole or ash-heap. The feet, the ears, and the snout are 
naked. 

The organs of sense and motion in this little animal 
seem to be exceedingly dull. Their eyes are prominent, 
hanging like black beads out of their sockets, and ap- 
pear to be perfectly destitute of lids, with a pupil simi- 
lar to those of a cat, which shows that they are suited 
to midnight depredations. 

The nostrils of the opossum are evidently well de- 
veloped, and upon the smell almost exclusively, is it de- 
pendent for its preservation. The ears look as if they 
were pieces of dark or soft kid skin, rolled up and fas- 
tened in their proper places. The mouth is exceedingly 
large and unmeaning, and ornamented with innumerable 
sharp teeth, yet there is very little strength in the jaws. 
The paws or hands of the animal are the seat of its 
most delicate sensibility, and in their construction are 
developed some of the most wonderful displays of the 
ingenuity of an All-wise Providence, to overcome the 



OPOSSUM HUNTING. 257 

evident inferiority of the other parts of the animal's 
construction. 

The opossum makes a burrow in the ground, gene- 
rally found near habitations. In the day time it sleeps, 
and prowls at night. The moon in its brilliancy seems 
to dazzle it, for under the bright rays of the queen of 
night it is often knocked on the head by the negro hunt- 
er, without apparently perceiving it has an enemy near. 
The habits of the opossum generally resemble those 
of the " coon •' and fox, though they are, as might be 
supposed from our imperfect description, infinitely less 
intelligent in defending themselves against the attack 
of an enemy. Knock an opossum on the head or any 
part of the body, with a weapon of any kind, small or 
great, and if he makes any resistance at all, he will en- 
deavor to bite the weapon, instead of the agent using 
it. The opossum is, in fact, a harmless little creature, 
and seems to belong to some peace society, the members 
of which have agreed to act toward the world as the 
boy promised to do with the bull-dog, " If you will let 
me alone, I won't trouble you." 

Put the animal in a critical situation, and he will 
resort to stratagem instead of force to elude his pur- 
suers ; for if he finds escape impossible, he will feign 
himself dead in advance of giving you an opportunity to 
carry out your destructive intentions toward him ; or 
when you think you have destroyed him, he will watch 



258 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

his opportunity, and unexpectedly recovering his breath, 
will make his escape. 

This trick of the little animal has given rise to a 
proverb of much meaning among those acquainted with 
his habits, entitled, " playing 'possum," and probably it 
is as good an illustration of certain deceptive actions of 
life as can be well imagined. 

Take an opossum in good health, corner him up un- 
til escape is impossible, then give him a gentle tap on 
the body that would hardly crush a mosquito, and he 
will straighten out, and be, according to all indications, 
perfectly dead. In this situation you may thump him, 
cut his flesh, and half skin him ; not a muscle will 
move ; his eyes are glazed and covered with dust, for he 
has no eyelids to close over them. You may even worry 
him with a dog, and satisfy yourself that he is really 
defunct ; then leave him quiet a moment, and he will 
draw a thin film from his eyes, and, if not interfered 
with, be among the missing. 

An Irishman, meeting with one of these little ani- 
mals in a public road, was thrown into admiration at its 
appearance, and on being asked why he did not bring 
the " thing " home with him, said he : 

" On sight, I popped him with my shillelah; he died 
off immadiately, and I thrust the spalpeen into my coat 
pocket i ' There's a dinner, ony how,' I said to myself; 
and scarcely had I made the observation, than he com- 
menced devouring me, biting through my breeches, the 



OPOSSUM HUNTING. 259 

Lord presarve me ! I took him out of my pocket, and 
gave liim another tap on the head that would have kilt 
an Orangeman at Donnybrook Fair : ' Take that for a 
finis, you desateful crater,' said I, slinging him upon 
my back. Weil, murther, if he didn't have me by the 
sate of honor in no time. ' Och, ye 'Merica cat, ye, I'll 
bate the sivin lives out of ye ! ' and at him I wint till 
the bones of his body cracked, and he was clean kilt. 
Then catching him by the tail, for fear of accidents, if 
he didn't turn round and give my thumb a pinch, I'm 
no Irishman. ' Off wid ye ! ' I hallooed with a shout, 
' for some ill-mannered ghost of the divil, with a rat's 
tail : and if I throubles the likes of ye again, may I ride 
backwards at my own funeral ! ' " 

There is one other striking characteristic about the 
opossum, which, we presume, Shakspeare had a pro- 
phetic vision of, when he wrote that celebrated sentence, 
" Thereby hangs a tail ; " for this important appendage, 
next to its " playing 'possum," is most extraordinary. 
This tail is long, black, and destitute of hair, and al- 
though it will not enable its possessor, like the kangaroo, 
in the language of the showman, " to jump fifteen feet 
upwards and forty downwards," still it is of great im- 
portance in climbing trees, and supporting the animal 
when watching for its prey. 

By this tail the 'possum suspends itself for hours to 
a swinging limb of a tree, either for amusement or for 
the purpose of sleeping, which last he will do while thus 



260 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

" hung up," as soundly as if slipping his hold did not 
depend upon his own will. This " tail hold " is so firm, 
that shooting the animal will not cause him to let go, 
even if you blow his head off; on the contrary, he will 
remain hung up, until the birds of prey and the elements 
have scattered his carcass to the winds ; and yet the 
tail will remain an object of unconquered attachment to 
its last object of circumlocuting embrace. 

An old backwoods " Boanerges " of our acquaint- 
ance, who occasionally threw down his lap-stone and 
awl, and went through the country to stir up the people 
to look after the " consarns of their latter end," en- 
forced the necessity of perseverance in good works, by 
comparing a true Christian to an opossum up a tall 
sapling, in a strong wind. Said he, " My brethren, 
that's your situation exactly ; the world, the flesh, and 
the devil, compose the wind that is trying to blow you 
off the gospel tree. But don't let go of it ; hold on as 
a 'possum would in a hurricane. If the fore legs of 
your passions get loose, hold on by your hind legs of 
conscientiousness ; and if they let go, hold on eternally 
by your tail, which is the promise that the saints shall 
persevere unto the end." 

As an animal of sport, the opossum is of course of 
an inferior character ; the negroes, however, look upon 
the creature as the most perfect of game, and are much 
astonished that the fox and deer should be preferred ; 
and the hilarity with which they pursue the sport of 



OPOSSUM HUNTING. '261 

'possum hunting, far excels the enthusiasm of the most 
inveterate follower after nobler beasts. 

Fine moonlight nights are generally chosen on such 
occasions ;. three or four negroes, armed with a couple 
of axes, and accompanied by a cur dog, who understands 
his business, will sally out for 'possum hunting, and 
nothing can be more joyous, than their loud laugh and 
coarse joke on these midnight hunts. The dog scents 
the animals, for they are numerous, and " barks up the 
right tree." A torch made of light wood or pitch pine, 
is soon diffusing a brilliant light, and the axe is struck 
into the tree containing the game, — let it be a big tree 
or a small one, it matters not ; the growth of a century, 
or of a few years only, yields to the " forerunner of civ- 
ilization," and comes to the ground. 

¥/hile this is going on the dog keeps his eye on the 
'possum, barking all the while with the greatest anima- 
tion. In the mean time, the negroes, as they relieve 
each other at the work of chopping, make night vocal 
with laughter and songs, and on such occasions particu- 
larly, will you hear " Sitting on a Rail," cavatina fash- 
ion, from voices that would command ten thousand a 
year from any opera manager on the Continent. 

The tree begins to totter ; the motion is new to the 
'possum, and as it descends, the little animal instinc- 
tively climbs to the highest limb. Crash, and off 
he goes to the ground, and not unfrequently into the 
very jaws of the dog ; if this is not the case, a short 



262 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

steeple chase on foot ensues ; 'possum finds escape im- 
possible, — feigns himself dead, — falls into the wrong 
hands, and is at once, really killed. 

Such is opossum hunting among the negroes, a sport 
in which more hard labor is got through with in a few 
hours than will be performed by the same individuals 
throughout the whole of the next day. Sometimes two 
or three opossums are killed, — and if a negro is proud of 
a yellow vest, a sky-blue stock, and red inexpressibles ; 
with a dead opossum in his possession, he is sub- 
limated. 

Among gentlemen, we have seen one occasionally 
who amuses himself with bringing down an opossum 
with a rifle, and we have met one who has given the hunt 
a character, and really reduced it to a science. We 
were expressing some surprise at the kind manner with 
which our friend spoke of opossum hunting, and we 
were disposed to laugh at his taste ; we were told very 
gravely that we were in the presence of a proficient in 
'possum hunting, and if we desired, we should have a 
specimen at sundown, and by the dignity of the hunt we 
would be compelled to admit that there were a great 
many ways of doing the same thing. The proposition 
came from our host, and we at once consented. 

The night was dark^ and I noticed this, and spoke 
of it; and the reply was, that such a night only, would 
answer the purpose. A half hour's ride brought us into 
the depths of the forest, and in the extra darkness of 



OPOSSUM HUNTING. 263 

its deep recesses we were piloted by a stout negro bear- 
ing a torch. Oirr dogs — for there were two of them — 
soon gave notice that we were in the vicinity of an opos- 
sum, and finally, directed by their noses — for eyes were 
of no use — they opened loud and strong, and satisfied us 
that an opossum was over our heads. 

At this moment I was completely puzzled to know 
how we were to get at the animal, I must confess ; we 
had no axe, and a millstone intervening between the 
oppossum and our eyes, could not have shut it out of 
sight more effectually than did the surrounding darkness, 
which seemed to be growing " thicker " every moment, 
by contrast with the glaring torch. 

The negro who accompanied us, without ceremony 
kindled a large fire about twenty feet from the base of 
the tree in which our game was lodged, and as soon as 
it was well kindled and burning merrily, my companion 
seated himself about forty feet from the base of the 
tree, bringing the trunk of it directly between himself 
and the fire. I took a seat by his side by request, and 
waited patiently to see what would come next. The fire 
continued to burn each moment more brightly, and the 
tree that intervened between us and it became more pro- 
minent, and its dark outline became more and more dis- 
tinct, until the most minute branch and leaf was per- 
fectly visible. 

" Now," said mine host, •' we will have the opos- 
sum. Do you see that large knotty-looking substance 



264 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTEH. 

on that big limb to the right ? It looks suspicious ; we 
will speak to it." 

The sharp report of the rifle followed, and the negro 
that accompanied us picked up a large piece of bark that 
fell rattling to the ground. The rifle was reloaded, and 
another suspicious-looking protuberance was fired at, and 
another knot was shattered. Again was the rifle reloaded, 
and the tree more carefully examined. Hardly had its 
shrill report awakened the echoes of the forest for the 
third time, before a grunt that would have done honor 
to a stuck pig was heard, and the solid fat body of the 
'possum fell at our feet. The negro picked it up, relit 
his torch, and we proceeded homeward. 

When re&eated by a comfortable fire, we were asked 
our opinion by our host of " a white man's 'possum 
hunt ; " we expressed our unqualified approbation of the 
whole afi"air, although we thought at first that any im- 
provement on the negro's mode of doing the business 
would be " painting the lily ! " 

As an article of food the opossum is considered by 
many a very great luxury ; the flesh, it is said, tastes not 
unlike roast pig. We should have liked very much to 
have heard " Elia's " description of a dish of it ; he 
found sentiment and poetry in a pig, — where would he 
have soared to over a dish of 'possum ? 

In cooking the " varmint," the Indians suspend it on 
a stick by its tail, and in this position they let it roast 
before the fire ; this mode does not destroy a sort of 



OPOSSUM HUNTING. 265 

oiliness, which makes it to a cultivated taste coarse and 
unpalatable. 

The negroes, on the contrary — and, by the way, they 
are all amateurs in the cooking art — when cooking for 
themselves, do much better. They bury the body up with 
sweet potatoes, and as the meat roasts, thus confined, the 
succulent vegetables draw out all objectionable tastes, 
and render the opossum " one of the greatest delica- 
cies in the world." At least, so say a crowd of respect- 
able witnesses. We profess to have no experience in 
the matter, not yet having learned to sing with enthusiasm 
the common negro melody of 

" Tossum fat and ' tater.' " 

12 



A ^'HOOSIER^' IN SEARCH OF JUSTICE. 

About one hundred and twenty miles from New Orleans 
reposes, in all rural happiness, one of the pleasantest 
little towns in the south, that reflects itself in the mys- 
terious waters of the Mississippi. 

To the extreme right of the town, looking at it from 
the river, may be seen a comfortable-looking building, 
surrounded by China trees ; just such a place as senti- 
mental misses dream of when they have indistinct no- 
tions of " settling in the world." 

This little " burban bandbox," however^ is not occu- 
pied by the airs of love, nor the airs of the lute, but by 
a strong limb of the law, a gnarled one too, who 
knuckles down to business, and digs out of the " uncer- 
tainties of his profession" decisions, and reasons, and 
causes, and effects, nowhere to be met with, except in 
the science called, par excellence, the " perfection of hu- 
man reason." 



Around the interior walls of this romantic-looking 
place may be found an extensive library, where all 
the " statutes," from Moses' time down to the present 
day, are ranged side by side ; in these musty books the 
owner revels day and night, digesting " digests," and 
growing the while sallow, with indigestion. 

On the evening-time of a fine summer's day, the sage 
lawyer might have been seen walled in with books and 
manuscripts, his eye full of thought, and his bald high 
forehead sparkling with the rays of the setting sun, as 
if his genius was making itself visible to the senses ; 
page after page he searched, musty parchments were 
scanned, an expression of care and anxiety indented 
itself on the stern features of his face, and with a sigh 
of despair he desisted from his labors, uttering aloud 
his feelings that he feared his case was a hopeless one. 

Then he renewed again his mental labor with tenfold 
vigor, making the very silence, with which he pursued 
his thoughts, ominous, as if a spirit were in his presence. 

The door of the lawyer's office opened, there pressed 
forward the tall, gaunt figure of a man, a perfect model 
of physical power and endurance — a western flatboatmau. 
The lawyer heeded not his presence, and started as if 
from a dream, as the harsh tones of inquiry, grated upon 
his ear, of, 

" Does a 'Squire live here ? " 

*' They call me so," was the reply, as soon as he 
had recovered from his astonishment. 



268 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

" Well, 'Squire," continued the intruder, " I have 
got a case for you, and I want jestess, if it costs the best 
load of produce that ever come from In-di-an." 

The man of the law asked what was the difficulty. 

" It's this, 'Squire : I'm bound for Orleans, and put 
in here for coffee and other little fixins ; a chap with a 
face whiskered up like a prairie dog, says, says he, 

" ' Stranger, I see you've got cocks on board of your 
boat — bring one ashore, and I'll pit one against him 
that'll lick his legs off in less time than you could gaff 
him.' Well. 'Squire, / 7iever take a clar. Says I, 
' Stranger, I'm thar at wunce ;' and in twenty minutes the 
cocks were on the levee, like parfect saints. 

" We chucked them together, and my bird, 'Squire, 
now mind, 'Squire, my bird never struck a lick, not a 
single blow, but tuck to his heels and run, and by thun- 
ders, threw up his feed, actewelly vomited. The stake- 
holder gave up the money agin me, and now I want 
jestess ; as sure as fogs, my bird was physicked, or he'd 
stood up to his business like a wild cat." 

The lawyer heard the story with patience, but flatly 
refused to have any thing to do with the matter. 

" Prehaps," said the boatman, drawing out a corpu- 
lent pocket-book, " prehaps you think I can't pay — here's 
the money ; help yourself — give me jestess, and draw on 
my purse like an ox team." 

To the astonishment of the flatboatman, the lawyer 
still refused, but unlike many of his profession, gave his 



A "• HOOSIER " IN SEARCH OF JUSTICE. 269 

would-be client, without charge, some general advice 
about going on board of his boat, shoving oiF for New 
Orleans, and, abandoning the suit altogether. 

The flatboatman stared with profound astonishment, 
and asked the lawyer " If he was a sure enough 'Squire." 

Receiving an affirmative reply, he pressed every ar- 
gument he could use, to have him undertake his case and 
get him "jestess;" but when he found that his efforts 
were unavailing, he quietly seated himself for the first 
time, put his hat aside, — crossed his legs, — then looking 
up to the ceiling with the expression of great patience, 
he requested the " 'Squire, to read to him the Louisiana 
laws on cock-fighting," 

The lawyer said that he did not know of a single 
statute in the State upon the subject. The boatman 
started up as if he had been shot, exclaiming — 

''No laws in the State on cock-fighting? No, no, 
'Squire, you can't possum me ; give us the law." 

The refusal again followed ; the astonishment of the 
boatman increased, and throwing himself in a comico- 
heroic attitude, he waved his long fingers around the 
sides of the room and asked, 

" What all them thar books were about ? " 

"All about the law." 

" Well then, 'Squire, am I to understand that not 
one of them thar books contain a single law on cock- 
fighting ? " 

" You are." 



270 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

" And, 'Squire, am I to understand that thar ain't 
no laws in Louisiana on cock-fighting ? " 

" You are." 

" And am I to understand that you call yourself a 
'Squire, and that you don't know any thing about cock- 
fighting ? " 

" You are." 

The astonishment of the boatman at this reply for a 
moment was unbounded, and then suddenly ceased ; the 
awe with which he looked upon " the 'Squire " also 
ceased, and resuming his natural awkward and familiar 
carriage, he took up his hat, and walking to the door, 
with a broad grin of supreme contempt in his face, he 
observed, — 

" That a 'Squire that did not know the laws of cock- 
fighting, in his opinion, was distinctly an infernal old 
chuckel-headed fool ! " 



MAJOR GASDEN'S STORY. 

No one told a story better than old Major G-asden — 
in fact he could detail very commonplace incidents so 
dramatically, that he would give them a real interest. 
He had met with a little incident on his first visit to 
New Orleans, that was to him a source of either con- 
stant humor or annoyance. Whichever view he took 
of the adventure, gave character to his illustration of it. 
The '■ major," on a certain occasion, formed one of 
a happy party, and growing communicative under the in- 
fluence of genial society and old port, was imprudent 
enough to call on several persons near and around him 
for songs and sentiments — which calls being promptly 
honored, — the Major very unexpectedly found himself 
under the immense obligation of doing something for his 
friends himself; and as he could not sing, and hated salt 
water, he compromised, by relating the following per- 
sonal adventure. 



272 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

We give it as nearly verbatim as possible, but must 
premise, that from an occasional twinkle that we noticed 
in the Major's eyes, we have never been perfectly satis- 
fied that he did not, to use the language of an Irish 
friend of ours, " make an intentional mistake." 

" There ought to be nothing about a dinner, gene- 
rally speaking," commenced the Major, " to make it an 
era in one's history in any way. 

" The power merely to gratify the appetite just suf- 
ficient to sustain life, is eating in poverty ; a life spent 
merely in gratifying the appetite, is brutal. We like a 
good dinner, and we sit down to one with that compla- 
cency of feeling that denotes a thankfulness, that may 
properly be called, a silent blessing ; yet we feel more 
pity for a man who recollects his bad dinners, than we do 
for one who distinctly remembers his good ones. In every- 
day life, things commemorative often start from the ta- 
ble. ' Do you remember,' says Gustibus, ' that so and 
so happened the day we ate the fresh salmon ? ' 'I re- 
member the event,' replies Dulce, ' from that exquisite 
bon-mot uttered on the occasion.' 

" I remember my first dinner in New Orleans as dis- 
tinctly as I remember my first love. I trust it was im- 
pressed upon my mind through the excitement of the 
intellect, as well as through the gratification of the senses. 
As I journeyed on to New Orleans for the first time, 
I naturally suggested to my travelling companion, my 
desire to be most pleasantly provided for while in the 



MAJOR GASDEN's STORY. 273 

city, and contrary to his usual custom, he launched forth 
in eloquent declamation upon the table of his host, drew 
pictures of luxuries that threw my most sanguine antici- 
pations of good living into the shade, and caused me to 
look forward with an interest to the gratification of my 
palate that I had never before indulged in. 

" I landed on the ' levee ' of New Orleans in the mid- 
dle of the morning ; although it was early spring, a glo- 
rious sun, such as Pomona loves, was making every thing 
look gay ; the swollen Mississippi dashed a few waves 
over the artificial barrier that confined it to its channel, 
and as they crowded along in little rivulets, they spar- 
kled like molten silver and gold, indicative, as we thought, 
of the wealth which was borne upon its waters, and 
paid tribute to the city. 

" I need not say where I ate my first dinner in New 
Orleans. The dining hall was a long one and the diners 
numerous. I made my entrance after the soup dishes 
had done their office, and was, of course, a little late. 

' It might have been the exercise, or excitement, 
or a hastily-eaten breakfast, that made me feel in the 
spirit of enjoying a good dinner, for I was unusually 
disposed that way; and looked down the long tables, 
crowded to excess, with great concern, for fear there 
would be no room for me, until that melancholy time, 
when gravies cool into water and globules of fat, and 
meats are just as warm as when alive ; the cruets half 
filled, and the cloth awry. I trembled at the prospect, 



274 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTEFw. 

when, to my inexpressible relief, on my left, near the 
door, at the top of the two long dining tables, was a 
small round one, at which sat some six or eight gentle- 
men. A single chair was unoccupied, and without cere- 
mony, I appropriated it to myself. 

" I never saw a man come in late to dinner who did not 
endeavor to look around on the company present, with 
that sort of expression which signifies ' Who cares if I 
did come in late ? ' I looked that way, and happened to 
feel so too ; and as I cast my eyes on the gentlemen at 
my right and left, and before me, I paid no attention 
whatever to the cold stare I met with, as if intending 
to make me feel that I was intruding. 

" In this excellent humor with all the world and my- 
self, I asked the waiter with a loud voice for soup, hot if 
possible, and I found myself accommodated in the twink- 
ling of a ladle. I went to work lustily to lay the foun- 
dation of what my friend in the morning had promised, 
an extra sple7idid dinner. 

" Oysters and fish, as a first course, seem to be 
founded in nature, reason, and taste, — I accordingly 
made the reflection to the gentleman on my right — he 
very formally assented to the proposition, and ate spar- 
ingly. I pressed him with great solicitude to follow my 
example, — and do justice to the viands before him. He 
suggested that he was troubled with a dyspepsia. This 
little conversation was received by the whole table with 
what I remember now, and then for a moment, thought 



MAJOR GASDEn's STORY. 275 

was an unnecessary quantity of laughter, particularly by 
a gentleman at the foot of the table, presuming I sat at 
the head. This person, however, had a sparkling eye 
and a rubicund nose, and I concluded that he was easily 
pleased, and thought nothing more of the matter; at 
the same time feeling great sympathy for my friend on 
my right, whom I set down as a very bashful man. 

" The venison, all trembling about in its dish, with 
its spirit lamps, and wine condiments, was very beautiful 
indeed, but to me not so much of a rarity as it would 
have been, had I not lived in a country where deer were 
plenty. Determined to call out the bashful man, I ob- 
served to him if I had had the arrangement of the 
dinner, I should have ordered roast beef, as I had un- 
derstood New Orleans was growing quite celebrated for 
that dish. The bashful man smiled, the rest of the 
table were delighted, and it was agreed that it was a 
most valuable suggestion. 

'^ Thus encouraged, I went on to inform all present, 
that, the sweetest venison I ever tasted was while 
' travelling on the frontier ; ' that it was not cooked 
like the steaks in the chafing dish before us, but merely 
jerked off of the carcass, thrown on living coals of fire, 
and then while steaming hot, devoured with the simple 
addition of pepper and salt. Hereupon the gentleman 
with the rubicund nose, told the bashful man that this 
second suggestion of mine was invaluable, and another 
unnecessarily hearty laugh followed. 



276 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

" Prairie hens of a most delicate flavor followed 
after the meats ; they were really delicious ; they came 
from Illinois, somebody said, and showed the enterprise 
of the landlord of the hotel — so I thought and uttered, 
and my feelings in this matter were entirely appreciated 
by the little group around me. 

" The becasse, as they were announced, excited my 
unbounded astonishment; there they were, in a large 
dish, packed side by side ' like newly-married couples,' 
round as globes, and looking as inviting as ice in 
August. 

" I took one in my plate, turned it over and over, 
and discovered to my horror that the bird had probably 
committed suicide by running its own bill through its 
body, and as I drew it out I ejaculated, 

" ' Woodcock, as I live ! ! '" 

" My bashful friend responded, ' Exactly so.' 

" I helped every body ; the birds flew about under 
my administration as if they were alive and mad, and 
there was a general display of the most cheering good 
humor at my beneficent liberality. 

" In the mean time, the two long tables of the hotel 
were deserted, the waiters at them were walking about 
munching bits of bread and other odd ends, piling up 
plates, and 'clearing off;' but our little party grew 
more and more merry and happy, wine, delicious and 
old, flowed freely ; course after course followed, and then 
came a thousand varieties of the confectioner's skill. 



MAJOR GASDEN's STORY. 277 

" Toasts and sentiments, really new, were engendered 
by the old wine, songs sentimental and patriotic ; bosom 
friends were we all, mingling together as sweetly and 
harmoniously as the waters of the vale of Avoca. 

" For my own part, I was particularly happy in my 
feelings and remarks, whatever / said was received with 
a roar, in fact I never met with the same number of 
gentlemen so easily pleased and so congenial. 

''The sun gradually sunk in the west, and the sug- 
gestion of candles by an attendant proved a signal for 
departure — one more glass around and a sentiment from 
myself was to finish. Requesting all to fill to the brim, 
I raised my glass on high, and thus addressed my 
friends : 

" ' Gentlemen — I have heard much of the fine tables 
spread in New Orleans, particularly of this hotel, and 
of the enterprise of its host. I have heard nothing equal 
to their respective or joint merits {great applause, the 
ruhicund-nosed man breaking his glass in enthusiasm). 
The whole of this afi"air is only surpassed in my expe- 
rience, or most inflated dreams, by you, gentlemen (cast- 
ing a sort of patronising look around me), by you, gen- 
tlemen, — in your social, literary, and scientific attain- 
ments ' — [tremendous cheering). 

" I concluded, in a halo of glory, with ' A health to 
our host." 

" This speech or sentiment — was drank to the bottom, 
two gentlemen fell under the table, and four suspender 



278 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

buttons rattled against the windows opposite me. Shak- 
ing hands with all who could go through the ceremony, 
I left the table, whereon had been eaten the best dinner 
of my life — where I had met the cleverest party ever 
assembled to my knowledge ; such was my first dinner in 
New Orleans. 

" It was nearly one o'clock at night, when I met my 
friend with whom I had parted in the morning. I found 
him in his room suffering from a severe attack of the colic ; 
I was still under the pleasurable excitement of my din- 
ner, its effects were still radiating about my brain like 
heat from a cooling stove. I was very communicative 
about the events of the day, and among other things ex- 
ceedingly grateful to my sick friend for introducing me 
to such a splendid hotel and to such good dinners. 

" 'Good dinners,' he groaned, 'do I look as if I had 
eaten a good dinner ? nearly dead from swallowing cab- 
bage and pork.' 

" The very mention of such gross aliment made me 
sick, and I asked him where he dined, with undisguised 
alarm. 

" ' In the hotel, to be sure,' was his reply. 

" I told him that he was dreaming, and to convince 
him, gave him a hurried description of my own dinner 
at the same time and place. The severe pains of the 
colic could not altogether destroy the mysterious mean- 
ing of my friend's eyes as he looked up, and informed 
me that the table I sat down at was di, private table, and 



MAJOR GASDEN's STORY. 279 

the dinner that had given me so much satisfaction was 
a " game dinner," got up at great expense, and under 
the immediate superintendence of celebrated bon 
vivants. 

" The conceit of my ability to amuse a party of 
strangers at the social board, vanished into thin air; the 
cause of the wit of my jokes was revealed, — fortunate, 
indeed, as I was, in eating a good dinner, I was still 
more fortunate in meeting with a party of gentlemen, 
who were too delicate to hint at any explanations that 
would, in their presence, inform me of my amusing mis- 
take. 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 

[This western sketch was elicited fi-om a celebrated but idle pen, by per- 
sonal friendship for the " Bee Hunter." Its great merit and originality cannot 
fail to be widely appreciated.] 

The citj of Louisville, in. the fall of 1822, was visited 
by an epidemic, which decimated its population, and 
converted the dwellings of its inhabitants, erewhile the 
abodes of pleasantness and hospitality, into houses of 
mourning. The records of the devastations of the fell 
intruder, are to be found inscribed upon the headstones 
that whiten the ancient graveyard of the town, wherein 
are deposited the bodies of those, who, whilst sojourning 
upon earth, dispensed the good things of this world with 
graceful liberality, and made a home for the wayfarer 
amidst a people upon whom he had no other claim than 
that of a stranger. The Angel of Death hovered over 
the devoted city in remorseless ecstasy, pointing the 
shafts of his exhaustless quiver in every direction, and 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 281 

striking down in preference, the shining objects of 
public consideration and regard. I was among those 
who felt the winnowing of his wings as he flitted past 
my couch in quest of nobler trophies. 

All those who were not obliged to remain within the 
doomed precincts of the city, fled to places afar off; 
while such as mere necessity required to abide the pes- 
tilence, resorted to the most ingenious devices to escape 
its visitation. Those who *were overlooked by the De- 
stroyer in his wrath, were near being starved, as few 
country people dared bring marketing into the town, and 
those who did so, only ventured within interdicted limits 
at certain hours of the day, and right hastily did they 
retreat to their more salubrious abodes. Amid the 
general desolation, the incidents of woe were strangely 
mingled with those that cheated Death, momentarily, of 
his horrors. 

It were a scene that might have provoked the atten- 
tion of Atropos herself, and made her pause awhile iu her 
terrible vocation, to smile upon the ludicrous means that 
terror invented to thwart the purposes of Destiny. The 
emaciated figures of the convalescent citizen, strangely 
contrasted with the stalwart frame of the hardy yeoman, 
whilst the cadaverous aspect of the former added to the 
grotesqueness of the besmeared faces of the latter. 

The farmer, moved either by compassion or love of 
gam to visit the town, as he penetrated the city as far 
as the market-liouse, would use amulets and bags of 



282 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

sulphur, and, besmeared his nose and lips with tar, to 
protect him in inhaling the tainted atmosphere ; and 
whilst he exposed his poultry for sale, kept continually 
burning about his stall aromatic herbs, such as penny- 
royal, sage and tansy, to appease or appal the dread in- 
tent of Azrael. 

It was with a bounding heart, that late in September 
I learned that I was well enough to be removed beyond 
the sound of the church bell, whose daily tolling an- 
nounced to me, as I lay prostrate, the death of some 
schoolmate, whose merry laugh would never more be 
heard upon the bowling-green ; or the demise of some 
ancient crone or new comer, whose gossip or whose en- 
terprise was the pastime of the youth, or the theme of 
speculation amongst the fathers of the city. The luxu- 
riant forests had just assumed the russet garb of autumn, 
as I once more found myself without the city, and right 
speedily did the bracing country air and association with 
people whose hearth-stone had not been visited by pesti- 
lence, exert their influence in restoring me both to cheer- 
fulness and strength. 

My destination was Shelby county, in the neighbor- 
hood of the village of that name, where I remained un- 
til November. It was during the latter part of Octo- 
ber that the events transpired that will form the subject 
of this brief history, and the character of the incident 
will probably excuse the digression with which it is be- 
gun ; for, as will be presently seen, the epidemic had a 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 283 

principal agency in producing the catastrophe, which, 
had it not happened, would have spared me the task of 
chronicling an achievement in turf matters, more re- 
markable than the connection between pestilence and 
the sequel of these pages. 

On the third Saturday (if I remember aright) of 

October, 1822, the Hon. J L called for me 

on his way to the Jockey Club Races, on the four-mile 
d&,j. He had taken up the impression that a race would 
be a source of amusement and advantage to me ; and in 
the fulfilment of a humane purpose, had brought along 
with him an Indian pony, that went by the euphoneous 
name of " Boots," given as much for shortness, as 
by reason of the color of the animal, which was an 
equivocation between a sandy brown and a dingy black 
— ^just that of a pair of boots, which had not received 
the polishing aid of the black for an indefinite period.* 
Astride of this epitome of a horse, I made my first ap- 
pearance upon a race-course. I was then only ten 
years of age, and the impressions made upon my mind 
at that time are more vivid than those of a later day, 
and of more important character. 

There were then no spacious stands erected for the 
accommodation of visitors. Upon a mound within the 
circle of the track were collected, what was then con- 
sidered, a vast number of carriages, containing the aris- 
tocratic beauty of the country — though perhaps some of 
the fair patrons of the turf might at this time, or their 



284 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

daughters for them, turn up their seraphic noses at the 
rude contrivances that rejoiced at so recent a period in 
the appellation. About the field were horsemen innu- 
merable, and upon the adjacent hills were thronged the 
less fortunate spectators, who could muster neither 
wheeled vehicle, nor four-footed beast for the occasion. 
The scene was one of animation, and to my young im- 
agination, — of unsurpassable brilliancy. 

We had not been long upon the ground before we as- 
certained that something was amiss. Every body wore an 
uneasy and fidgetty aspect, the cause of which was soon 
discovered. By the rules of the Jockey Club, it re- 
quired three entries to make a race. There was no 
walking over the course, in those days. Every purse 
taken, had to be won gallantly of at least two competi- 
tors. Only two horses had been entered, and the sport 
seemed about to be broken up for want of a third. 
There were other nags of " lineage pure " in attendance, 
but their owners were afraid to start them against the 
celebrated Blannerhassett^ and the no less celebrated 
Epaminondas. 

In this strait the concourse of assembled people 
grew ill-natured, and even the ladies pouted in sore 
disappointment. The owners and trainers of the re- 
nowned coursers, which were held apart for want of a 
go-between, vaunted the performances of their respective 
nags and looked daggers at the judges, whose conscien- 
tious scruples would not permit the purse to be taken, 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 285 

but in conformity to the constitution and laws of the 
club. 

The famous racer, J H— , hopped about the 

track with accelerated motion, in calling the public at- 
tention to the prominent points of Blanner-Jiassett^ who 
was to be abated of his laurels by a rule, which he stig- 
matized with many epithets,' having reference to eternal 

darkness ; whilst Dr. B was no less industrious in 

extolling the merits of Epmninondas^ who happened to 
be precisely in the same situation with his competitor. 

What was to be done ? The ladies were making 
preparation to leave, and the gentleman had begun to 
arrange for " scrubbing," when the Judge called out 
from the stand in a loud voice (trumpets were not then 
in vogue), " saddle your horses ! " What a thrill passed 
through the crowd ! and with what emotions did I hear 
these sounds. 

The public, generally, was greatly overjoyed at the 
prospect of the race, but, nevertheless, there were many 
who were anxious to know upon what authority the 
judges had ordered the horses to be saddled; and these 
were, generally, the very persons who were most boister- 
ous in abusing them for their obstinacy, when it was ap- 
prehended that there would be no sport. 

Upon inquiry, it was found out that the Hon. J. 

L , in conjunction with three other gentlemen, viz., 

Hon. J. T , M. H , and R. B , Esqrs., had 

actually entered a third horse, and thereby made the 



286 THE IIIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

race, in all respects, conformable to the rules of the 
club. 

The strict construictionists were not satisfied, how- 
ever, with the announcement of the third entry ; they 
demanded to see the animal — and I well remember the 
air of ruffled dignity with which the owner of " Boots " 
bade me get up behind him, to have the " great un 
known " led up to the stand for inspection, and sad- 
dled, or rather unsaddled, for the race. 

The •' Boots " party had made the entry with no in- 
tention of running him. It was on their part a gra- 
tuitous subscription of the sum required, to prevent the 
spectators from going home in chagrin and disappoint- 
ment. But when pushed to this extremity^ they not 
only produced the nominee, but actually resolved upon 
making a brush for the money — as much in derision of 
the scruples of the malcontents, as in obedience to a cer- 
tain spirit of the old Adam in them, which revolted 
against the uncharitable suggestions of collusion bruited 
about the course, when it was said, that the third entry 
would not exhibit himself for the contest. 

Upon the threshold of his ingress into the theatre 
of fame, poor " Boots " met with an obstacle that well 
nigh nipped his prospects in the bud. The rules of the ■ 
club required the pedigree of every horse entered to be 
stated. Alas, '' Boots " had neither scutcheon nor an- 
cestry. His age was of little consequence. His pres- 
ent owner had come in possession of him ten years be- 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 287 

fore that time, and consequently he was set down as 
" aged," a term of scope and verge enough to satisfy the 
most fastidious. But his pedigree ! There was the 
rub. 

" Boots " was an orphan upon the paternal side 
from birth, and the mother's too, so far as any one could 
say to the contrary. He was what is called filius nul- 
lus^ or nobody's child, and consequently had a right to 
claim any one for parent he thought fit. His owner 
plead to be allowed to enter him as " a charity scholar," 
but this could not be granted. At length a compro- 
mise was made, and " Boots " appeared upon the field 
under the following imposing blazon and protection. 

"The Hon. J. L enters bl. h. ' Boots,' aged; by 

' Tar,' out of a ' Cicff'' mare, of unknown extraction." 

These preliminaries settled, the thorough-breds were 
saddled, and the saddle was taken ofi" of " Boots " for 
the contest. A negro lad who had ridden him as far as 
the house where I resided, and who was allowed by his 
master to go to the races, as he had to wait till they 
were over to take him home, was mounted upon him. 
Great was the laughter of the crowd when the horses 
were about starting. The pawing impatience of the 
over-trained racers, attracted little attention. The 
gaze of the multitude was upon the black pony. '-'■Blan- 
nerhassetf'' neighed, and '■^ Epaminondas '' snorted, — ' 
but all to no purpose. No one cared to look at them. 
^^ Boots " was like a Merry Andrew in a deep tragedy — 



288 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

he had completely upset the gravity of the audience, 
whose powers of composing themselves to the thoughtful 
mood becoming the occasion, seemed gone for ever, to 

the great chagrin of J. H , and Dr. B , who 

cavorted about in their anger, as much as their horses. 

First Heat. — There was great difficulty in starting 
the horses. Several false "get ofls " were made. The 
star actors in the drama pirouetted most provokingly, 
whilst the rider of '■'•Boots'''' made him toe the line, 
where he waited with meekness and humility for the 
word " go," and even after that was given, manifested 
little anxiety to change his position. 

The thorough-breds went at it, pell-melL The un- 
due share of attention given to " Boots " by the crowd, 
had first nettled their owners and afterwards their jock- 
eys. Away they went like twin bullets, leaving ^'- Boots " 
so far behind, that before the first mile was done he was 
lost sight of. When they entered the quarter stretch 
of the close of the second mile, " Boots " was for the 
first time passing the judges' stand. On they went with 
resistless fury. 

In the beginning of the third mile " Boots,'''' was 
seen about a hundred yards in advance. This some- 
what startled the spectators, who in the closeness of the 
running between " Blannerhassett " and " Epaminon- 
das " had for a moment forgotten all about him. There 
he was though, in front, and pegging away with hearty 
good will — ahead it is true in point of position, but ac- 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 289 

tually a mile behind. In a moment they were upon 
him. 

" Boots " strove for about six feet to keep his posi- 
tion in advance, but they swept by him, and after they 
had gone out of sight the good old horse had all his run- 
ning to himself, and cut out the work to his own liking. 

The fourth mile of the race was run under whip and 
spur ; first " Blan " and then " Fam " (as the specta- 
tors abreviated their learned names) was ahead ; the 
feeling of the multitude was intense. In entering the 
quarter stretch the last mile " Boots " was once more 
discernible, and nothing daunted by the clatter of hoofs, 
or dispirited by the gibes of such as happened to catch a 
glimpse of him, was maintaining his accustomed gait 
steadily, and just rounded the turn, as the "two bloods" 
swept by the stand — a dead lock. 

According to the rules of the club, a dead heat was 
regarded as though none had been run. The Boots 
party contended that their horse was not distanced, and 
to this view of the case, the judges unanimously inclined. 
Upon examination, the rules were positive upon the sub- 
ject, and had " Boots " bolted, or had he not run a foot 
much less two miles of the four, he would be entitled to 
start a second time. Indeed, no objection was made by 
any one, none could be made, and accordingly it was de- 
termined to put him again in the field — the fact of the 
matter being, that his owner perceiving that the old 
lo 



290 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

horse looked better for his exertion, was inclined to see 
the day out, just for the fun of the thing. 

If the extra exercise of the race improved ^' Boots,'^ 
it had quite a contrary effect upon the others. They 
were sadly blown, and manifested growing symptoms of 
distress. In those days, the business of training a horse 
for a four-mile race was beyond the skill of Western 
jockeys, or at least of many of them, and the art of 
riding in a manner to keep a horse together, and husband 
him for after heats, was known to but few. In the 
present case, the horses were both over-trained, and 
over-worked in the race. 

As soon as the heat was done, innumerable boys and 
grown-up men were rubbing them down, scraping the 
foam off of them with great industry and perseverance. 
Covers of brightest colors were put over them, and such 
pains as few invalids get, were bestowed upon them ; 
whilst his rider hitched ^' Boots ^^ to a post, and quietly 
sauntered off to a booth, to comfort himself with ginger- 
bread and a glass of cider. 

When the time allowed for rest had elapsed, the three 
horses were again brought to the post— but this time 
the thorough-breds had become quite subdued, either 
through fatigue, or from an admiration of the sober de- 
portment of the strange competitor who stood beside 
them. 'At the word "go," they all three "got off" 
cleverly together for the 

Second Heat. — " Boots " took a position close up, 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 



291 



which, by the help of such coaxing as was inherent in a 
stout eane used by Jesse (the black boy who rode him), 
he maintained with wonderful precision. The cracks 
went oif at a slow gallop ; both riders being ordered to 
go gently along. In this way they ran the first mile. 
The second mile was done in the same manner, and now 
for the first time was heard the exhortation, " go it, 
Boots,'" as the little black kept closely up. The pace 

did not improve the third mile, both Dr. B and J. 

H knowing that neither horse had more than a 

short brush in him. Upon the fourth mile the speed 
did not quicken, until Jesse, taking heart from his close- 
ness to the leading horses, actually challenged the hind- 
ermost one for the front. Such a shout as went up upon 
this rally, was never before heard upon that field. 

" Go it, Boots,'^ burst from every mouth, and even the 
ladies moved their 'kerchiefs and murmured soft ap- 
plause. But chivalrous as the efi"ort was, it came near 
costing " Boots " the laurels that were wreathing for his 
brow. The push was made too soon. The jockeys be- 
came cognizant of the proximity of the unheralded 
scrub, and went off at the top of the speed of their re- 
spective horses. " Boots " was fast falling into the 
rear ; but as good luck would have it, they could not 
quite distance him, but in attempting to do so, they 
completely used up the " cracks.^'' 

Epamiyiondas won this heat by a neck. The stable 
boys again got around the descendants of Godolphm, 



292 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

who indeed required their attention more than ever 
— for though they had not run more than half a mile of 
the heat, that was enough to worst them terribly in their 
jaded condition. And " Boots,'^ too, fared better than 
before. He was getting to be a feature in the race, and 
a circumstance attending the betting made him now an 
object of the greatest interest. 

After the dead heat, the betting began. The result 
of that heat proved the horses to be so nearly of equal 
speed and spirit, that great confidence was placed in the 
representations of their owners, and parties betted as 
they were partial to the one or the other of them 

It so happened that no one seemed to take " Boots'^ 
into the account in making bets, and by that very means 
he had as much money depending upon him as either of 
. the other horses. 

Every one who proposed a wager, betted that either 

Dr. B 's " Pam " or J. H 's " Blan" would win 

the purse. 

Now the takers of such offers were ot course " field- 
ers;" for they in fact betted, that the horse named would 
not take their money, and consequently, if " Boots " won 
it, they were as much gainers as though the nag they 
relied upon had won it. Hence every bet taken was, in 
technical term, upon " the field," though the party that 
took it, might have forgotten at the time that there was 
such a horse as " Boots ^ 

It will be seen that a tissue of accidents first brought 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 293 

the little black upon the field, enabled him to start for 
the second heat, procured for him a vast number of un- 
conscious backers, and made him, at the present stage 
of the race, quite a topic of speculation. 

As a matter of course, his comfort came to be pro- 
vided for ; and one assiduous groom ventured to scrape 
him down with a thin lath. Whereupon " Boots,''^ who 
had never been known to perspire since the last war, 
when he was taken in Canada by the person of whom his 
present owner purchased him ; looked around, and not 
being able to recognize the fellow, or divine what on 
earth he was up to, kicked out his left hind leg in evi- 
dent disgust. 

This w^as tbe only token of concern in the proceed- 
ings going on, that the pony had given during the day, 
but that, slight as it was. gave great hope to the 
" fielders," for the other horses, albeit so spry in the 
beginning, had got beyond the kicking point ; and sub- 
mitted to the manipulation of their trainers with com- 
mendable, but ominous docility. 

When the interval of rest between the heats had ex- 
pired, " Boots " alone, seemed qualified for a repetition 
of the preceding exercises. He first made his appear- 
ance at the post, in consequence of his not requiring 
time for saddling. He stood for some moments quietly, 
as usual, with his nose on a parallel with the judges' 
stand ; but as the trainers brought up Epaminondas 
and Blannerhassett he turned his head sidewise, looked 



294 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

wistfully for a moment upon them, and exhaled a long, 
deep sigh — whether of pity at the dejected aspect and 
distressed condition of the whilom gallant steeds, or on 
account of some faint notion of the business he was en- 
gaged in, then for the first time penetrating the integu- 
ments of his simple understanding, has not been satis- 
factorily explained. 

Had he been aware that money was staked upon 
him, — that he was in fact accessory to gambling, — it is a 
question if he would not have sulked outright ; for 
" Boots ^'' although bred in a savage country, had kept 
moral society for many years ; and must have imbibed 
serious, and temperance ideas. But the word "go" was 
given, and they were all three ofi" for the 

Third Heat. — For the first time the little black 
was ahead, both in point of fact and position. He went 
off just as at the commencement of the race, with per- 
haps a trifle more alacrity from practice, 

Jesse, who had been lectured upon the impropriety 
of his hrusli in the second heat, so soon as the last half 
of the fourth mile, imagined that he had done wrong in 
taking the lead, and set about holding the pony up until 
the others passed by ; but " Boots^'' to the sore mortifi- 
cation of his rider, would not be held up. He had got 
a taste of the boy's bludgeon, and not liking its savor, 
pushed on, despite the most obstinate endeavors to re- 
strain his impetuosity. 

The thorough-breds this time, not only could endure 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 295 

the black's proximity, but absolutely trailed him the 
whole of the first mile. On entering the second, either 
through mortified pride, or more positive malice, both 
the jockeys were ordered to go ahead of the scrub. 
Spurs were put in requisition, and the flagged and worn 
horses got by the pony before they came into the back 
stretch. After shaking off their ignoble competitor, they 
relapsed into the stinted stride they set out with. But 
Jesse now had become enamored of the front, and on he 
urged the pony, who, nothing loth, crawled up to them, 
and came round the quarter stretch neck and neck with 
the foremost. 

In the straight work, first one and then the othei 
glided by him. But these fits and starts in running 
could not avail against a steady pace. " Boots " would 
come up with them, and at every subsequent attempt it 
was becoming palpably more difficult to part company 
with him. 

On entering the third mile, Epaiimiondas was evi- 
dently lame, and when he tried to widen the distance 
between him and ^^ Boots'''' on the back stretch, gave up: 
the little black went by him for good, and a shout of 
applause arose, that had wellnigh made old Entellus's 
sceptre tremble in his grasp. 

The contest was now narrowed down to " Boots " 
and Blannerhassettj — and neither of them had won a 
heat. 

The four gentlemen who entered the pony, imme- 



296 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

diately galloped in every direction over the field, en- 
couraging Jesse to get the descendant of Cuff along ; 
straight ahead, the little black held the even tenor of 
his way, whilst " Blan " would first leave him a rod, 
and then drop back to him, in flickering fits of " game 
and gravel." 

At the beginning of the fourth mile, " Boots " was 
well up ; on going round the turn he passed " Blan " a 
neck. (Immense cheering.) In the straight running 
" Blan " again sloped by the pony, but remained satis- 
fied with getting ahead the least bit imaginable. This 
position was maintained to the turn, when " Boots " 
came alongside, and before entering the quarter stretch, 
drew out a full length in advance, amid deafening shouts 
of " go it. Boots," " go it, darkey," " pop him, sooty," 
" give him Jesse ; " and such like exclamations of dis- 
paraging signification, but used in the most laudatory 
sense of approbation. 

Jesse, unfortunately, in his eagerness to win the 
heat ; used his cudgel carelessly, and accidentally gave 
the black a clip on the head, which so " disgentled " him 
that he turned almost entirely around before he could 
be checked. In this way, he lost his advantage just as 
he reached the distance stand, and it was well for him 
that he had got that far, as " Boots " showed the most 
implacable resentment to such treatment, and tried to 
run in every direction but the right one. 

Indeed he had not before exhibited such spirit ; he 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 297 

actually reared up, and wasted euough energy in expos- 
tulating against any such phrenological experiments be- 
ing made upon him, to have won the heat, had it been 
properly directed. He could not be induced to resume 
operations until " Blan " had passed the judges' stand, 
and was pronounced winner of the heat. 

At the termination of this heat, the nature of the 
betting was fully developed. The " Blan " party upon 
claiming their stakes — EjKcminondas being distanced — 
discovered that " Boots " stood between them and the 
spoils. They had raised a feeble shout upon the issue 
of the heat, futile enough ; for they assumed to consider 
a triumph over " Boots " as a sorry affair, but when they 
understood that the pony was entitled to start a fourth 
time, even that faint ejaculation, melted down to a du- 
bious mutter. 

The rules of the club required a horse to win one of 
the three first heats to enable him to keep upon the 
track. Strange to say there was greater doubt concern- 
ing this last mile than there was respecting " Boots " 
being distanced the first heat. The judges had great 
trouble in deciding the difficulty. Three heats had been 
run, and " Boots " had won neither ; but then the first 
was declared null and void, crgo^ only two had been, in 
law, accomplished. 

The Epaminondas party here stepped in, as much 
for the principle, as the interest of the thing, and de- 
clared that " Boots " had a right to run a fourth heat. 
13* 



298 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

Dr. B , who, now that his horse was distanced, would 

give his left hand to see J. H 's nag done the same 

by, declared openly for the pony; and the judges "being 
sufficiently advised," decided that way. This was the 
most reasonable, as well as the most popular judgment ; 
for one half of those who betted on " Blan," being, in 
sporting terms, " fielders," and who, consequently, could 
not lose, were vociferous for the continuance of the sport. 
This question settled, betters were puzzled how to 
lay out their money. Blannerhassett had yet friends 
who would not hedge. They could not realize the pos- 
sibility of his being beat by a scrub like " Boots,'''' and 

J. H taking courage from the pony's strange freak 

at the end of the last heat, vaunted his nag's prowess 
anew, as well to assure his friends, as to brag off the 
" Boots' " people. 

Strange rumors were circulated respecting the con- 
dition of each horse. The trainer of " Blan " kept the 
people, as far as possible, from inspecting the state of 
his charge, whilst every man, woman and child in the 
field, that chose to do so, was allowed to look on "i^oo^s," 
and get upon his back too, as to that matter. 

The old pony looked none the worse for wear, and 
how to account for his fantastic behavior, was perplex- 
ing enough. Some said he sulked, others that he had 
given way internally, — one or two insinuated foul deal- 
ings. None, however, divined the real cause, except 
Jesse, who kept it to himself, not even venturing to in- 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 



290 



form his master that the faithful creature he bestrode 
had only paused in his career to remonstrate against an 
unintentional, yet serious and glaring personal injury. 

What with the fear of a repetition of the pony's ca- 
prices, and the well-founded belief that Blannerhassett 
was used up, the public were in an equipoise in regard 
to the result. Betting was going on pretty freely, when 
the horses were summoned to the 

Last Heat.— The pony showed little change since 
he last " toed the mark," unless perhaps a dogged air, 
arising as much from a sense of wrong, as an internal 
speculation as to whether the affair was ever coming to 

an end. 

Blannerhassett looked worse than his namesake did 
when charged with high treason. The high-bred steed 
was in no mood to take on airs. He came up panting 
and faint, and in his distress took no notice whatever of 
' 30018,'' who, as soon as the boy mounted him, mani- 
fested a strange anxiety to push on. In his eagerness 
to get his head out of the way of Jesse's stick, he actu- 
ally made a fake start, and had to be called back. 

When the word was given, " Boots " got greatly the 
start. It was enough that Jesse held his cudgel so as 
to remind him that it was in readiness ; away he scamp- 
ered, regardless alike of the shouts of the multitude, 
and the abuse of the Blannerhassett s, whose horse was 
quite stiff at the go off, and lost ground considerably for 
the first half mile. On getting a little warm, he went 
better, but the pony was in no humor to wait for him. 



300 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

At the close of the first mile, " Boots " was two hun- 
dred yards ahead, and pegging away as if the devil was 
behind him, and a phantom corn heap in front. 

Blannerhassett'' s jockey now used whip and spur to 
overtake the flying imp — but it was in vain. His horse 
responded to the steel and lash for a few strides, and 
then gave out ; fatigued, — lamed, — and broken down. 

Meanwhile " Boots,'''' not having the reputation of 
Blannerhassett before his eyes, but the dread of the 
cudgel behind him, was rattling it off at a merry pace. 
Upon entering the third mile of the heat Jesse came in 
view of his antagonist, pretty near the spot where he 
was overtaken himself, in the beginning of the day. The 
boy could not for a time comprehend how " Blan " got 
before him, and was evidently becoming bewildered with 

the phenomenon, when the Hon. J. L told him to 

push on, and beat the blooded stock, as far as he had 
been beaten. 

The darkey understanding now that he had gained a 
mile, showed his ivory to the spectators and his cudgel 
to " J5oo^5," and swept by the done-up nag, like a ball 
fired out of a cannon charged with slow matches. 

I will make no attempt to describe the shouts of the 
people at the issue, until I can dip my pen in electricity 
to write in thunder drops, — or in the prism, to depict 
the eye of beauty as it flashed applause, to the unher- 
alded champion. 

This feat achieved, — there was no competitor for 



THE GREAT FOUR-MILE DAY. 301 

" Boots " but the sun. Jesse made it his ambition to 
finish the race by the light of his rays, and he was as 
proud as a sceptred monarch, when looking over the 
heads of the throng that gathered around the victorious 
" Boots " upon the conclusion of the heat, he saw the 
glorious orb yet above the horizon, and looking gladly 
upon him as though he would bless him before he went 
to bed. 

" Boots " was near sharing the fate of the Grecian, 
who was smothered to death in the theatre, by wreaths 
and shawls showered down upon him in glorification. He 
could scarcely breathe, for the multitudes that pressed 
upon him in one way or another, to do him honor. And 
Jesse, too, got a large share of plaudits and dimes con- 
formably ; and even I came in for gleanings of regard, 
as I rode home upon the pony after the jubilation. 

There were no cattle-painters there, nor lithograph- 
ers, nor daguerreotypists ; else " J5ooz!s " and his rider 
would have been transmitted to posterity in their linea- 
ments of that day. It has fallen upon feeble hands to 
preserve some faint remembrance of them in this ac- 
count, which is as inferior to the merits of the theme, as 
the snuffed candle is to the brilliant orb of day. 



THE WAY THAT AMERICANS GO DOWN 

HILL. 

"But who has not been both wearied and amused with the slow caution of 
the German drivers ? At every little descent on the road, that it would almost 
require a spirit-level to discern that it is a descent, he dismounts, and puts on 
his drag. On a road of the gentlest undulations, where a heavy English coach 
would go at the rate often English miles an hour, without drag or pause, up hill 
or down, he is continually alighting and putting on one or both drags, alighting 
and ascending with a patience and perseverance that amazes you. Nay, in 
many states, this caution is evinced also by the government, and is forced on 
the driver, particularly in Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and Austria, by a post by the 
way-side, standing at the top of every slope on the road, having painted on a 
board, a black and conspicuous drag, and announcing a fine, of commonly six 
florins (ten shillings) on any loaded carriage which shall descend without the 
drag on. In every thing they are continually guarding against those accidents 
which result from hurry, or slightness of construction." — HoicitVs Moral and 
Domestic Lifein Germany. 

The stage in wliich we travelled across " the Alleganies," 
was one of the then called " Transit line." It was, as the 
driver termed it, "a rushing affair," and managed, by a 
refined cruelty to dumb beasts, to keep a little ahead of 
the " Opposition," which seemed ever to come clatter- 
ing in our rear, like some ill-timed spirit, never destined 
exactly to reach, but always to be near us. 



THE WAY THAT AMERICANS GO DOWN HILL. 303 

The drivers of our different " changes," all seemed 
to be made upon the go-ahead principle, and looked upon 
nothing as really disgraceful, but being behind the stage 
that so perseveringly pursued us. Unfortunately too, 
for our safety, we went in an " extra," and managed, by 
a freak of fortune, to arrive at the different stations, 
where drivers and horses were changed, just as the former 
had got comfortably to bed ; and it was not the least 
interesting portion of my thoughts, that every one of 
these Jehus made the most solemn protestations, that 
he would " upset us over some precipice not less than 
three hundred and sixty-five feet high, and knock us into 
such a perfect nonenity, that it would save the coroner 
the trouble of calling a jury to sit upon our remains." 

It is nine years since, and if the winter of that year 
is not set down as " remarkably cold " in the almanacs, 
it shows a want of care in those useful annuals. 

We say it is nine years since we crossed the AUe- 
ganies. At the particular time to which we allude, 
the " oldest inhabitant " of the country (and we met 
him on the road side) informed us that he had no recol- 
lection of such a severe season. That we could live 
through such a night would have been deemed impos- 
sible, could its perils have been anticipated, before they 
were experienced. 

The fire in every house we passed smoked like a fur- 
nace, and around its genial warmth were crowded groups 



304 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

of men, women, and children, who looked as if they 
might have been born in the workshop of Yulcan, 

The road over which we travelled was macadamized, 
and then frozen ; it was as hard as nature will permit, 
and the tramping of the horses' feet upon it sounded in 
the frosty air as if they were rushing across a continuous 
bridge. 

The inside of the stage-coach is a wonder ; it is a 
perfect denial to Newton's theory, that two things, or 
twenty, cannot occupy the same place at the same time. 
The one we travelled in was perfectly full of seats, straw, 
buffalo robes, hat-boxes, rifles, flute cases, and small par- 
cels — and yet nine men — the very nine muses at times 
(all the cider along the road was frozen, and we drank 
the heart of it), stowed themselves away within its 
bowels; but how, we leave to the masters of exhausted 
air-pumps and hydraulic presses to imagine. 

We all, of course, froze, more or less, but it was in 
streaks ; the curtains of the stage were fastened down 
and made tight, and then, like pigs, we quarrelled our- 
selves into the snuggest possible position and place ; it 
being considered fortunate to be in the centre, as we 
then parted with least heat, to satisfy the craving appe- 
tite of Jack Frost, who penetrated every little hole and 
nook, and delighted himself in painting fantastic figures 
upon the diff"erent objects exposed to his influence, out 
of our misery and breath. 

By one of those extraordinary phenomena exhibited 



THE WAY THAT AMERICANS GO DOWN HILL. 305 

in the climate of our favored country, we unexpectedly 
found ourselves travelling over a road that was covered 
with a frozen sleet, for cold as the season was, there was 
no snow ; the horses' shoes consequently had no corks on 
them worth noticing, and the iron-bound wheels, on this 
change in the surface of the earth, seemed to have so 
little hold upon the road that we almost expected they 
would make an efibrt to leave it, and break our necks as 
a reward for their aspirations. On we went, however, 
and as night came on, the darkness enveloped us in a 
kind of cloud, — the ice-glazed surface of the ground re- 
flecting upwards a dull, mysterious light. 

Our whereabouts never troubled us ; all places be- 
tween the one we were anxious to reach, and where we 
were, made no impression upon us ; and perhaps we 
would never have known a single particular place, but 
for the incident about to be detailed. 

I think that all my companions, as well as myself, 
were asleep, when I was awaked by that peculiar sawing 
motion which a stage body makes upon its springs when 
suddenly stopped. 

" What's the matter now ? " was the general excla- 
mation of the " insides " to the driver; who was dis- 
covered through the glass window on the ground, beat- 
ing his arms around his body with a vehemence that 
almost raised him into the air. 

" Matter ! " he exclaimed, sticking his nose above 
a woollen blanket that was tied around his face, which 



306 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTEE. 

from the cold and his breath was frosted like a wedding- 
cake, " matter enough ; here we are on the top of Ball 
Mountain, the drag-chain broken, and I am so confound- 
edly cold, that I could not tie a knot in a rope if I 
had eighteen thousand hands." 

It was a rueful situation truly. I jumped out of the 
stage, and contemplated the prospect near and at a dis- 
tance, with mixed feelings. So absorbed did I soon be- 
come, that I lost sight of the unpleasant situation in 
which we were placed, and regarded only the appear- 
ance of things about me, disconnected with my personal 
happiness. 

There stood the stage, upon the very apex of the 
mountain, the hot steaming breath of my half-smothered 
travellers pouring out of its open door in puffs like the 
respirations of a mammoth. The driver, poor fellow, 
was limping about, more than half frozen, — growling, 
swearing, and threatening. The poor horses looked 
about twenty years older than when they started, their 
heads being whitened with the frost. They stamped 
with impatience on the hard-ribbed ice, the polished iron 
of their shoes looking as if it would penetrate their flesh 
with biting cold. 

But such a landscape of beauty — all shrouded in 
death, we never saw or conceived of, and one like it is 
seldom presented to the eye. Down the mountain could 
be traced the broad road in serpentine windings, lessening 
in the distance until it appeared no wider than a foot- 



THE WAY THAT AMERICANS GO DOWN HILL. 307 

path, obscured by the ravines and forest- trees through 
which it ran ; on each side were deep, yawning chasms, 
at the bottom of which the hardy pines sprung upward 
a hundred and fifty feet, and yet they looked from where 
I stood like creeping plants. The very mountain-tops 
spread out before me like pyramids. The moon, coming 
up from behind the distant horizon, shone upon this vast 
prospect, bathing one elevation of light and another in 
darkness, or reflecting her silvery rays across the frozen 
ground in sparkling gems, as if some eastern princess 
scattered diamonds upon a marble floor ; then starting 
in bold relief the shaggy rock -born hemlock and poison 
laurel, it penetrated the deep solitudes, and made " dark- 
ness visible," where all before had been most deep ob- 
scurity. 

There too might be seen the heat, driven from the 
earth in light fogs by the intense cold, floating upwards 
in fantastic forms, and spreading out in thin ether as 
it sought more elevated regions. 

As far in the distance in every direction as the eye 
could reach, were the valleys of Penn, all silent in the 
embrace of winter and night, calling up most vividly the 
emotions of the beautiful and the sublime. 

" How are we to get down this outrageous hill, 
driver?" bawled out a speculator in the western lands, 
who had amused us, through the day, with nice calcu- 
lations of how much he could have saved the govern- 
ment and himself, had he had the contract of making 
the " National Road" over which we were travelling. 



308 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

The reply of the driver was exceedingly apt and 
characteristic. 

" There is no difficulty," said he, " in getting down 
the hill, but you well know there are a variety of ways 
of doing the same thing; the drag-chain would be of little 
use, as the wheel-tire would make a runner of it. I think 
you had better all take your places inside, say your 
prayers, and let me put off — and if yonder grinning moon 
has a wish to see a race between a stage and four horses 
down ' Ball Mountain,' she'll be gratified, and see sights 
that would make a locomotive blush." 

The prospect was rather a doleful one ; we had 
about ninety chances in a hundred that we would make 
a " smash of it," and we had the same number of chances 
of being frozen to death if we did not take the risk of 
being " smashed," for the first tavern we could get to 
was at the foot of the mountain. The driver was a 
smart fellow, and had some hostage in the world worth 
living for, because he was but three days wedded — had 
he been married six months we would not have trusted 
him. 

The vote was taken ; and it was decided to " go 
ahead." 

If I were to describe an unpleasant situation, I 
should say that it was to be in a stage, the door closed 
on you, with great probabilities that it will be opened by 
your head thrusting itself through the oak panels, with 
the axle of the wheel at the same time falling across 



THE WAY THAT AMERICANS GO DOWN HILL. 309 

your breast. It seemed to me that I would be, with my 
companions, if I entered that stage, buried alive ; so 
preferring to see the coming catastrophe, I mounted the 
driver's seat with a degree of resolution that would 
have enabled me to walk under a falling house without 
winking. 

At the crack of the whip, the horses, impatient of the 
delay, started with a bound, and ran on a short distance, 
the boot of the stage jDointing to the earth ; a sudden 
reverse of this position, and an inclination of our bodies 
forward, told too plainly that we were on the descent. 
Now commenced a race between gravitation and horse 
flesh, and odds would have been safely bet on the former. 
At one time we swayed to and fro as if in hammocks ; 
then we would travel a hundred yards sideways, boun- 
cing, crashing about like mad. 

A quarter way down the mountain — and the horses 
with reeking-hot sides and distended nostrils laid them- 
selves down to their work, while the lashing whip cracked 
and goaded them in the rear, to hasten their speed. 

The driver, with a coolness that never forsook him, 
guided his vehicle, as much as possible, in zig-zag lines 
across the road. Obstacles, no larger than pebbles, 
would project the stage into the air as if it had been an 
Indian-rubber ball, and once as we fell into a rut, we 
escaped upsetting by a gentle tap from the stump of a 
cedar tree upon the hub of the wheel, that righted us 
with the swiftness of lightning. 



310 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

On we went — the blood starting in my chilled frame 
diffusing over me a glowing heat, until I wiped huge 
drops of perspiration from my brow, and breathed in the 
cold air as if I were smothering. The dull, stunning 
sound that now marked our progress, was scarcely re- 
lieved by the clattering hoofs of the horses, and the mo- 
tion became perfectly steady, except when a piece of ice 
would explode from under the wheels as if burst with 
powder. 

Almost with the speed of thought we rushed on, 
and the critical moment of our safety came. The stum- 
bling of a horse — the breaking of a strap — a too strongly- 
drawn breath, almost, would have, with the speed we 
were then making, projected us over the mountain-side 
as if shot from a cannon, and hurled us on the frozen 
ground and hard rocks beneath. 

The driver, with distended eyes, and with an ex- 
pression of intellectual excitement, played his part well, 
and fortune favored us. 

As we made the last turn in the road, the stage for 
an instant vibrated between safety and destruction, — 
running for several yards upon one side, it displayed two 
wheels in the air, whirling with a swiftness that rendered 
them almost invisible. With a severe contusion it 
righted — the driver shouted — and we were rushing up 
an ascent. 

For a moment the stage and horses went on, and 
it was but for a moment, for the heavy body lately 



THE WAY THAT AMERICANS GO DOWN HILL. 311 

full of life, settled back upon the traces a dead weight, 
dragging the poor animals in one confused heap down- 
wards, until, shaking violently on its springs, it stood 
still. 

" A pretty severe tug," said one of the insiders to 
the driver, as he stretched himself, with a yawn. 

" Well, I rather think it was," said Jehu, with a 
smile of ineffable disdain. "I've driv on this road 

fifteen years, but I never was so near as to-night. 

If I was on t'other side' of ' Ball Mountain,' and my 
wife on this (only three days married, recollect), I would 
not drive that stage down ' Ball Mountain,' as I have 
to-night, to keep her from running away with a darkey." 

" Why, you don't think there was any real danger, 
do you ? " inquired another ' insider,' thrusting his 
head into the cold air. 

" I calculate I do," said the driver contemptuously. 
" If the off fore-leader, when I reached the ' devil's 
rut,' " he continued, " had fallen, as he intended, your 
body would now be as flat as either back-seat cushion 
in that stage." 

" Lord, bless us, is it possible ! " sighed another 
' insider;' " but it is all very well we have escaped, and 
we must run a little risk rather than be delayed in our 
journey." 

Appreciating more than my fellow-travellers, the 
terrible ordeal through which we had just passed, I 
have often in my dreams fancied myself on a stage- 



312 THE HIVE OF THE BEE-HUNTER. 

coach, just tumbling down the ravines that yawn on the 
sides of " Ball Mountain," and when I have started into 
wakefulness, I have speculated on that principle of the 
American character that is ever impelling it forward ; 
but it never forcibly struck me as a national peculiarity, 
until I read Howitt's journey down hill among the 
sturdy Grermans of the Old World. 



THE END. 






LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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